Russian Invasion of Ukraine Timeline
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine in a steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The campaign had been preceded by a Russian military buildup since early 2021 and numerous Russian demands for security measures and legal prohibitions against Ukraine joining NATO.
2023
September 18
President Zelenskyy ordered the dismissal of deputy defence ministers Hanna Maliar, Vitalii Deyneha, Denys Sharapov, Volodymyr Havrylov, Andrii Shevchenko and Rostyslav Zamlynskyi, as well as the ministry's state secretary, Kostiantyn Vashchenko. Prior to her dismissal, Maliar announced that Ukrainian forces had retaken two square kilometers (0.77 square miles) of territory around Bakhmut and 5.2 square kilometers of territory in the southern front in the past week. Army commander Oleksandr Syrskyi also claimed Ukrainian forces had breached the Russian defensive lines stretching from Bakhmut to Horlivka, and that the Russian military's 72nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade and the 83rd Air Assault Brigade were severely decimated and put out of action during the fighting.
Ukraine reportedly launched a HIMARS missile strike on a command post of the Russian 70th Motorized Rifle Division in Radensk, Kherson Oblast, killing eight officers and injuring seven others. Ukrainian military intelligence claimed that an An-148, an Ilyushin Il-20 and a Mil Mi-28 helicopter was damaged or destroyed in a sabotage attack at Chkalovsky Air Base near Moscow.
Seven people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-installed Donetsk People's Republic claimed that the offices of the regional administration in Donetsk city were damaged by a Ukrainian airstrike.
Russia claimed to have shot down three aerial projectiles over Belgorod Oblast.
Germany pledged a €400 million ($430 million) military aid package to Ukraine that would include explosives, mortar ammunition, rockets, armored vehicles, demining equipment, clothing and power generators for the winter, while South Korea pledged two K600 anti-mine vehicles.
2023
September 17
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Sumy Oblast. Four others were killed in separate attacks in Kherson Oblast.
The Ukrainian military claimed it had retaken Klishchiivka. Explosions were reported in Tokmak and in Sevastopol, with the latter occurring near Russian radio intelligence and air defence facilities.
Colonel Andrei Kondrashkin, commander of the Russian 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade, was reportedly killed in action in Andriivka, near Bakhmut.
Russia claimed to have shot down five drones over Crimea and Moscow Oblast, while another damaged an oil depot in Oryol.
Canada pledged $33 million CAD ($24.4 million) in military aid to Ukraine as part of a joint initiative with other Western countries to improve the country's air defence capabilities.
Ukraine formally filed lawsuits in the World Trade Organization against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary for their continued refusal to lift their ban on imports of Ukrainian grain, saying that their actions violated international obligations.
2023
September 16
Two people were killed after a car was attacked by Russian forces near the border village of Strilecha, Kharkiv Oblast. Five others were injured in a missile attack on the Kholodnohirskyi district in Kharkiv city.
In Russia, two drones were reportedly shot down over Tver and Kaluga Oblasts. One person was reportedly killed by shelling in the border village of Plekhovo, Kursk Oblast.
The Palauan-flagged cargo ships Resilient Africa and Aroyat arrived at the port of Chornomorsk, Odesa Oblast to load grain, the first vessels to do so under the maritime corridor introduced by Ukraine following the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Commander of the 47th Mechanized Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Sak was sacked and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Pavlii who had previously commanded the 112th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces in Kyiv since 2022.
2023
September 15
The Ukrainian military claimed it had retaken full control of the village of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut. It also accused Russia of accidentally dropping a bomb on occupied Nova Kakhovka and blaming Ukraine for the incident.
The Russian patrol boat Askold was reportedly attacked by Ukraine in the Black Sea.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) formally charged former MP Nestor Shufrych for treason and working with Russian intelligence.
UNESCO formally placed the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and the Old Town of Lviv on its List of World Heritage in Danger, citing the continued threat posed by the Russian invasion.
The United States provided the Ukrainian military with 3D printers to manufacture spare parts for military equipment.
The European Commission lifted a ban on the import of Ukrainian grain to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia that had been in place since May 2023 to protect domestic production. However, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia stated that they would continue to enforce the ban.
The United Kingdom formally designated the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.
2023
September 14
Russia claimed to have shot down four drones over Bryansk Oblast. It also claimed to have destroyed 16 aerial and naval drones in Crimea, with explosions reported in the vicinity of a Russian military garrison near the village of Uiutne, outside Yevpatoriya. At the same time, Russian officials closed the Crimean Bridge to traffic. Ukrainian forces subsequently claimed to have destroyed S-300 and S-400 missile systems near Yevpatoriya using drones and R-360 Neptune missiles and damaged the Russian patrol ships Sergei Kotov and Vasily Bykov in a separate attack in the Black Sea; the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that the Vasily Bykov engaged and destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones when escorting the merchant vessels Yaz and Ursa Major, the latter an alleged arms-runner, heading towards Istanbul. Another Russian vessel, the corvette Samun was reportedly hit by a Ukrainian naval drone as it entered Sevastopol Bay.
A six-year-old child was killed by Russian shelling in Novodmitryk, Kherson Oblast. Later in the day, authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of families with children in 31 settlements across the oblast.
Vasily Popov, commander of the Russian 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, was reportedly killed in action in Ukraine according to the ISW.
Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin announced that the International Criminal Court opened a field office in Kyiv to improve its effectiveness in its investigation in Russian war crimes, calling the office the ICC's largest after its headquarters in The Hague.
In response to spillovers from Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian Danube ports, Romania imposed a ban on aircraft flying at an altitude of less than 4,000 meters (more than 13,000 feet) over a zone within 30 kilometers (19 miles) of the eastern section of the Ukrainian border, in the vicinity of the ports of Sulina and Galați.
The United States announced sanctions on more than 100 individuals and entities involved in the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Among those sanctioned included Russian oligarch Andrei Bokarev, the head of major rolling stock manufacturer Transmashholding, his business partner Iskandar Makhmudov, and their family members, as well as Russian Deputy Defense Minister Aleksei Krivoruchko and Mkrtich Okroyan, the chief designer and board member for two Russian aerospace companies. Among companies sanctioned were Finnish and Turkish entities exporting goods to Russia, and leading Russian banking, investment, manufacturing, construction, and electronics firms. Meanwhile, the EU lifted sanctions against Russian businessmen Grigory Berezkin, Farkhad Akhmedov, and Alexander Shulgin.
2023
September 13
The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev claimed that the Sevastopol Shipyard was struck by a Ukrainian "missile attack" at 2 am, causing a large fire. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that 10 cruise missiles were fired, with 7 shot down. The attack also involved three "maritime drones", which were all destroyed. The Ministry said, "As a result of being hit by enemy cruise missiles, two ships under repair were damaged". At least 24 people were reported injured. The ships damaged were identified as the landing ship Minsk and the Rostov-na-Donu, a Kilo-class submarine. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Storm Shadow missiles were used. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) later assessed that 62 Russian servicemen were killed in the attack.
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Izmail, injuring six people.
Ukrainian soldiers from the 3rd Assault Brigade released footage of first person drones destroying a T-90A tank near Bakhmut. The footage was undated but believed to have been filmed in early August.
A court in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced two alleged members of the Azov Regiment to 29 years' imprisonment for alleged war crimes during the Siege of Mariupol.
Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, a Satcom surveillance system, 20 RQ-35 HEIDRUN reconnaissance drones, two mobile antenna mast systems, 10 drone detection systems, two WISENT 1 mine clearing tanks, explosive ordnance disposal material, 3,000 155 mm artillery shells, 1.5 million small arms ammunition rounds, an 8x8 HX81 truck tractor train, four semi-trailers, nine transport vehicles, five 8x8 load-handling trucks, and three ambulances.
The European Parliament formally recognized Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko as an "accomplice" to Russian war crimes in Ukraine, particularly for staging Russian troops and hosting deported children.
2023
September 12
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.
Denmark pledged a 5.8-billion-Danish-kroner ($830 million) military aid package to Ukraine that would include tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, ammunition, and anti-aircraft guns.
The NGO Save Ukraine returned 13 children in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine to relatives living in Kyiv-controlled territory.
2023
September 11
The Ukrainian defence ministry claimed its forces had retaken parts of the village of Opytne, three kilometers northwest of Donetsk, as well as 4.8 square kilometers of territory in the southern front over the past week.
Ukrainian military intelligence claimed that special forces had recovered several oil and gas drilling platforms off the Crimean coast that had been occupied and fortified by Russia since 2015. Among the facilities retaken were the Boyko Towers platforms and the 'Tavryda' and 'Syvash' mobile rigs following clashes during which a Russian Su-30 fighter jet, according to Ukrainian sources, tried to sink the assault boats with various weapons. Initially it was shot at with "service weapons" until it was reportedly struck by a Ukrainian MANPAD, damaging it and forcing it to retreat. Ukrainian forces also seized helicopter ammunition and a Neva radar system from the sites.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have struck a Russian drone base in Luhanske, occupied Donetsk Oblast.
In Russia, two drones were reportedly shot down over Belgorod Oblast, while two houses were reportedly damaged in a drone attack on Rylsk, Kursk Oblast.
Rheinmetall pledged 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of an order placed by the German government.
Russia began manufacturing upgraded T-80BVM tanks equipped with protection from drone attacks and top attack anti-tank missiles following observations in Ukraine.
Russian media reported that the National Guard, Rosgvardia, had begun recruiting former convicts who served in Ukraine as members of the Wagner Group.
2023
September 10
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv, injuring one person in the Podil neighborhood. Ukraine claimed to have shot down more than 24 drones launched. One person was killed in a separate attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Eight Ukrainian drones were reportedly shot down by Russian air defenses near Crimea, while Russia also claimed to have destroyed three Ukrainian military transport vessels north-east of Snake Island.
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol announced the establishment of a $2.3 billion aid package to Ukraine for humanitarian and postwar recovery concerns.
2023
September 9
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast. A Canadian volunteer for the non-government organisation (NGO) Road to Relief and the organization's Spanish director were killed after their vehicle came under Russian artillery fire near Chasiv Yar. Two other foreign volunteers were wounded.
A Russian soldier guarding polling stations during the Russian-organized local elections was reportedly killed in a car bombing in Nova Kakhovka by Ukrainian partisans, who also hacked into Russian television broadcasts in Crimea and called for a boycott of the elections.
The Russian-installed head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov claimed three drones were shot down over the peninsula.
The G20 issued a joint declaration at the end of its annual meeting in New Delhi that produced a milder stance on the invasion of Ukraine compared with the previous summit held in Bali, avoiding mention of Russian involvement in the conflict.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukrainian military intelligence, said that their counteroffensive would go on into winter.
2023
September 8
Russia launched a wave of missile attacks on cities across Ukraine, including in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy. In Kryvyi Rih, a police officer was killed and 74 others were injured in a missile strike on a police station, while 69 structures were damaged. Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken more than half of the village of Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, while noting that Russia had assembled a strike force near the village of Novohryhorivka in Luhansk Oblast in preparation for an offensive towards Lyman.
Russia began holding local sham elections in occupied areas of Ukraine until 10 September. During polling, the exiled mayor of Melitopol claimed that the regional headquarters of the United Russia party was destroyed in an incendiary incident, producing casualties on Russian authorities.
The Ukrainian government announced the repatriation of nine children deported to Russia, one of whom was imprisoned for allegedly blowing up a bridge.
Lithuania delivered 1.5 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine.
2023
September 7
Another wave of drone attacks was reported across Russia. In Rostov-on-Don, one person was injured and three buildings were damaged in a reported strike by two drones at the headquarters of the Southern Military District. Another drone was shot down over Moscow Oblast. A drone fell on a military facility in Volgograd Oblast, while another drone caused a fire at an industrial facility in Bryansk.
More than 270,000 tonnes of grain were reportedly destroyed by a Russian drone attack in the Danube river ports. Ukraine claimed to have shot down 14 drones. Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
Ukrainian border guards reclaimed the frontier settlements of Stroivka and Topoli, both of which lay in a recently de-mined "gray zone" between Ukrainian and Russian positions in Kharkiv Oblast.
The British Royal Air Force began surveillance flights over the Black Sea to protect grain shipments from Russian attacks.
The Pentagon pledged another military aid package to Ukraine worth $600 million which included air defense equipment, additional ammunition for HIMARS systems, 105 mm artillery rounds, electronic warfare, mine-clearing equipment, demolition munitions, training, and maintenance support.
A court in Abakan, Russia, sentenced journalist Mikhail Afanasyev to more than 5 years in prison and a 2.5-year ban on him practicing his profession for reporting on antiwar sentiment in Khakassia.
UNESCO approved a request by Ukraine to place 20 landmarks to the international list of cultural heritage sites under enhanced protection to deter military attacks. The sites included the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the Historic Centre of Lviv, Taras Hill in Cherkasy Oblast, the Derzhprom building in Kharkiv, and the wooden churches of the Carpathian regions.
The US and the UK sanctioned 11 members of the Russian cybercrime group Trickbot for launching ransomware attacks on foreign entities and targeting critics of the invasion of Ukraine.
2023
September 6
A missile struck the central market of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, killing at least 17 people including a child, and injuring 33 others.
A Russian drone attacked the port of Izmail, killing one person.
President Zelenskyy announced the transfer of Pavlo Kyrylenko from his position as governor of Donetsk Oblast to become head of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and announced another aid package to Ukraine valued at more than $1 billion, which included about $665 million worth of security assistance and $175 million in military hardware that included HIMARS artillery, Javelin antitank weapons, Abrams tanks, and depleted uranium ammunition. France also delivered 150 Delair drones to Ukraine.
Ukraine claimed that a HIMARS strike on the village of Myronivs'kyi in occupied Donetsk Oblast destroyed a stockpile of Vikhr missiles used by Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters.
2023
September 5
Russia claimed to have shot down four drones over Tver, Kaluga, Moscow, and Bryansk Oblasts.
A Ukrainian Challenger 2 was destroyed near Robotyne, the first time a tank of that model was destroyed by a belligerent in action.
Yury Afanasyevsky, head of the customs office of the Russian-installed Luhansk People's Republic, was reportedly injured in a bomb attack at his home.
Cuba announced the discovery of a human trafficking network that recruited its nationals to fight in Ukraine under Russian military forces, denouncing it as an act of "mercenarism", and arrested 17 people.
Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included 188 Mercedes-Benz Zetros off-road trucks, four border protection vehicles, a Beaver bridge-laying tank, 20,000 pairs of safety glasses, and ammunition for Flakpanzer Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
2023
September 4
Russia claimed to have shot down two drones over the Black Sea and in Kursk Oblast and destroyed four Ukrainian landing boats heading towards Crimea. It also launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine's Danube ports, damaging several buildings but causing no injuries. Ukraine claimed to have shot down 23 of 32 drones launched, with Romania saying drone parts fell on its territory. NATO said it did not believe that the spillover constituted a deliberate attack by Russia. In response, the Romanian government introduced additional security measures on the border settlements of Plauru and Ceatalchioi. One person was killed by shelling in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces had retaken three square kilometers of territory around Bakhmut in the past week.
President Zelenskyy made another visit to Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia fronts.
A court in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced two Ukrainian soldiers to more than 20 years' imprisonment for alleged war crimes during the Siege of Mariupol.
Russian media reported that T-14 Armata tanks were withdrawn from service in Ukraine after being deployed in indirect fire roles to test them in "real combat conditions".
Belgium pledged eight RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles to Ukraine.
2023
September 3
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on the port of Reni, injuring two people. The Ukrainian Air force claimed to have shot down 23 of 25 drones launched. Two people were killed in separate attacks in Donetsk and Kherson Oblast.
Ukraine claimed to have destroyed a Russian KS-701 patrol boat using a Bayraktar TB2 drone in the Black Sea, killing six and wounding two. In a separate attack in Luhansk Oblast, a Russian TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower system was reportedly destroyed by a drone, killing its crew.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the dismissal of his Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and his replacement by Rustem Umierov, the manager of the State Property Fund of Ukraine and a negotiator in talks with Russia throughout the war. Zelenskyy said he had based his decision on finding "new approaches" for the ministry, which had also been caught up in several corruption scandals in recent weeks. Umierov's appointment was confirmed by the Verkhovna Rada on 6 September.
In Russia, Roman Starovoit, governor of Kursk Oblast, claimed that a Ukrainian drone was shot down over Kurchatov, with falling debris setting fire to a "non-residential building".
President Zelenskyy said France had agreed to help train Ukrainian pilots on the use of F-16 fighter jets.
2023
September 2
Russia claimed to have destroyed three naval drones attempting to attack the Crimean Bridge, while the governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed that Ukrainian shelling killed one person in Urazovo.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have breached the first line of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia front and were now pushing towards the succeeding defense line.
Four people, including a police officer, were killed by Russian attacks in Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy Oblasts.
The United States pledged depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds that can be fired from M1A1 Abrams tanks it was sending to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package valued at $240-$375 million.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force said that the US would supply Ukraine with AMRAAM missiles, with Raytheon signing a contract to supply them to Ukraine valued at $192 million.
2023
September 1
In Russia, three drones were intercepted by air defenses over Pskov and Belgorod Oblasts, while another reportedly hit a factory that manufactured electronic components for rockets in Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast, forcing the closure of airports in the area. At least two buildings were reportedly damaged in another drone attack in Kurchatov, Kursk Oblast.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kherson.
The British weapons firm BAE Systems opened a branch in Ukraine as part of preparations to produce light artillery there.
Two container ships left Odesa through the temporary corridor introduced by Ukraine in the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) included PepsiCo and Mars, Incorporated to its list of international sponsors of the Russian war effort in Ukraine for continuing to operate in Russia.
Satellite images revealed that Russia had withdrawn air defences, artillery and tanks from the Kuril Islands as part of a possible redeployment to Ukraine.
The first Ukrainian crewmen completed their training on M1A1 Abrams tanks in the United States in anticipation of their delivery to Ukraine. However, their training was extended upon request by the Ukrainian government.
2023
August 31
President Zelenskyy announced an investigation into Ukrainians who have avoided conscription by medical exemptions, citing cases of $3,000-$15,000 being paid as bribes for exemptions. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry subsequently amended the criteria for medical exemptions, reclassifying people with clinically cured tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, slowly progressing blood diseases, thyroid gland diseases with minor functional disorders, and HIV to be fit for military service. Zelenskyy also announced that the country had developed a new weapon that could hit targets as far as 700 kilometers away.
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, while three others were injured in a missile attack on Vinnytsia Oblast.
Russia claimed to have shot down a drone over Moscow Oblast and three others over Bryansk.
Russia opened early voting for local elections in areas it occupied in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts set for 10 September.
2023
August 30
Ukraine reportedly launched a massive series of drone attacks overnight on six regions in western Russia. One attack struck Pskov Airport, destroying two Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft and damaging two others. The raid was launched from within Russia according to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian GUR. Several other drones were reportedly shot down over Bryansk, Oryol, and Ryazan Oblasts, while Moscow's Vnukovo airport was closed as a precaution. Attacks were also reported in Kaluga and Moscow Oblasts, while in the evening, two more drones and a missile were reportedly shot down over Bryansk Oblast and Crimea. Ukrainian officials, who did not claim responsibility for the attacks, claimed that that a fuel depot in Kaluga and a microelectronics factory in Bryansk were hit, and said that the attack on Pskov was carried out from inside Russia.
The Ukrainian military announced the death of six officers who were "carrying out missions" in the crash of two Mi-8 helicopters near Bakhmut, without giving a cause. Ukrainian media reported that the incident occurred near Kramatorsk.
Russia launched an overnight air attack on Ukraine, killing two people after debris fell on a commercial building in the Shevchenkivskyi district in Kyiv. Attacks were also reported in Kyiv and Zhytomyr Oblasts. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 43 of 44 missiles and drones launched. Three people were killed in separate attacks in Donetsk and Sumy Oblasts.
Russia claimed to have destroyed four boats carrying up to 50 members of Ukrainian special forces landing groups in the Black Sea, and intercepted a naval drone near Sevastopol Bay in Crimea.
Germany delivered 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks, a TRML-4D air surveillance radar, 16 VECTOR reconnaissance drones, four 8x8 HX81 heavy transporter trucks, along with four semi-trailers, 13 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and a field hospital as part of its latest military aid package to Ukraine.
A court in Moscow sentenced a Ukrainian national to 12 years imprisonment for allegedly plotting to detonate an explosive device in Bryansk Oblast as part of a sabotage group organized by the SBU.
Pope Francis told a crowd of Russian youths that they were heirs of "the great Russian empire", prompting condemnation from Lithuania, which summoned the Vatican's ambassador, and Ukraine. Russia called the comments "very gratifying".
The United States claimed that Russia had formally entered into a bilateral agreement with North Korea to supply the Russian military with artillery ammunition.
Russia changed the serial numbers system that indicated the time of production of its missiles in an attempt to prevent Ukrainian intelligence from counting the number of missiles in Russian stockpiles.
2023
August 29
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast.
The Ukrainian government ordered the mandatory evacuation of children, their parents or guardians, and people with limited disabilities from the settlements of Huliaipole, Yehorivka, Preobrazhenka [uk], Stepnohirsk and Novopavlivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, citing an escalation in fighting and Russian attacks.
Russia claimed to have shot down two drones over Tula Oblast.
Ukrainian forces attacked targets in Russian-occupied Zaliznyi Port, Kherson Oblast, destroying a Predel-E radar system and a Leer-2 Electronic Warfare unit.
2023
August 28
Russia launched an overnight missile strike on an industrial facility in Hoholeve, Poltava Oblast, killing four and injuring five others. Attacks were also reported in Kryvyi Rih, where eight structures were reportedly destroyed or damaged. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down four of six missiles launched. Six people were killed in separate attacks in Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed that its forces had retaken Robotyne and were now advancing towards the settlements of Novoprokopivka and Ocheretuvate in the Zaporizhzhia front. It also claimed to have retaken one square kilometer of territory in the south of Bakhmut in the past week.
Russia claimed to have shot down two drones and a cruise missile over Crimea, as well as four drones over Belgorod and Bryansk Oblasts. Another drone was intercepted over Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast.
The SBU arrested a resident of Kherson for passing military information to Russia to use in attacks.
2023
August 27
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv and Kherson Oblasts. Two people were injured by falling missile debris in Kyiv Oblast, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have shot down four cruise missiles over central and northern Ukraine.
The ISW assessed that Ukrainian forces were attacking towards the rear Russian defensive lines near Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia front.
In Russia, a drone flew into a residential building in Kursk, causing minor damage. 16 drones were reportedly launched in an overnight attack on an airfield in Kursk Oblast, which destroyed four Su-30 fighter jets and one MIG-29. An S-300 complex radar and two Pantsir missile systems were also struck.
2023
August 26
In Russia, a drone was shot down near Moscow, prompting the closure of the city's airports. The governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed that a drone was shot down near the village of Kupino, while Ukrainian shelling damaged buildings and injured four in the village of Urazovo, while another drone killed one person in the village of Shchetinovka. A drone attack was also reported in Bryansk Oblast.
The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Primus left Odesa for Varna, Bulgaria, the second ship to do so under the temporary corridor introduced by Ukraine in the Black Sea.
Three Ukrainian Air Force pilots were killed in a mid-air collision between two L-39 trainers over Sinhury, Zhytomyr Oblast. One of the pilots killed was Andrii Pilshchykov, call sign 'Juice', who engaged in dogfights during the Battle of Kyiv and was known for giving media interviews during which he advocated for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Yandex co-founder and former CEO Arkady Volozh formally petitioned the EU to lift sanctions placed against him over his search engine's promotion of Russian propaganda, after he publicly denounced the invasion of Ukraine as "barbaric" on 10 August.
2023
August 25
Russia claimed to have shot down 42 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, while an S-200 missile was reportedly shot down over Obninsk, Kaluga Oblast, forcing the temporary closure of Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports in Moscow. Explosions were also reported in Tula Oblast. The Ukrainian military, in conjunction with the SBU, launched a drone strike on the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet based in Perevalne in Simferopol Raion, Crimea, reportedly inflicting "dozens" of casualties.
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv Oblasts.
11 Ukrainian children deported to Russia were returned to the country by the NGO Save Ukraine.
Putin signed a decree ordering the Wagner Group and other paramilitary fighters to swear an “oath of allegiance” to the Russian state.
2023
August 24
The Ukrainian Navy and military intelligence conducted an overnight "special operation" on the western tip of Crimea, with amphibious landings near the towns of Olenivka and Maiak. The Ukrainian military claimed that it had attained its objectives, inflicted enemy casualties and equipment losses, and raised the Ukrainian flag there.
On the 32nd Ukrainian Independence Day, Russian attacks on Dnipro and Kherson wounded thirteen people, including a seven-year-old girl. Four others were injured in an attack on a supermarket in Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast. One person was killed by shelling in Kherson Oblast. The UK Foreign Office claimed that Russia launched an unsuccessful attack on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship docked in Odesa using missiles.
President Zelenskyy announced that Portugal would help train Ukrainian pilots on the usage of F-16 fighter jets, while Norway pledged at least two F-16s to Ukraine. The Norwegian government also pledged $140 million (1.5 billion NOK) to ensure the delivery of energy supplies to Ukraine. The Lithuanian Defence Ministry announced a 41 million-euro ($44 million) military aid package that would include ammunition for Carl Gustaf multi-purpose grenade launchers, rifles, maritime surveillance radar sets, 5.56 mm caliber ammunition, generators, anti-drone systems, and NASAMS launchers. Germany delivered Patriot missiles, eight drone detection systems, and 40 RQ-35 HEIDRUN reconnaissance drones to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package. The Pentagon announced that training of Ukrainian pilots on the use of F-16s in the US would begin in September in Texas and Arizona, facilitated by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing.
The US imposed sanctions on more entities and individuals linked to the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Among those sanctioned were the commissioners for children's rights in Belgorod, Kaluga, and Rostov Oblasts. Individuals in Chechnya were also targeted, including the republican commissioner for human rights, the chairman of the republican government, the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, its board member Aymani Kadyrova, who is also the mother of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and a special police battalion commander, all of which were involved in the detention of children in camps outside Grozny. The U.S. also sanctioned the Russian government-owned Artek "summer camp" located in Crimea, its director Konstantin Fedorenko, the Chief of Staff of the Sevastopol Branch of the Russian Youth Army Vladimir Kovalenko and the head of Sevastopol State University Vladimir Nechaev. Olena Shapurova, a Russian-appointed education official, was also sanctioned for implementing pro-Russian educational policies in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast and threatening to remove children whose parents boycotted pro-Russian schools.
The NAPC added tobacco manufacturers Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International to its list of international sponsors of the Russian war effort in Ukraine for continuing to do business in the country and supporting its economy.
Russian political activist Maxim Katz, who fled to exile in Israel, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison by a Moscow court for reporting atrocities by the Russian military in Ukraine on YouTube, including the Bucha Massacre.
2023
August 23
In Russia, two drones were reportedly shot down over Moscow Oblast, while the third was jammed electronically where it crashed into an under-construction building in central Moscow, leading to the temporary closure of the city's airports. The Governor of Belgorod Oblast said that another drone struck a sanatorium in the village of Lavy, killing three.
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on southern Ukraine, with a grain storage facility on the Danube partially burning down. The Ukrainian military said it had intercepted 11 of 20 drones launched at Odesa and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Four faculty members were killed, while four passersby were injured in a separate drone attack on a school in Romny, Sumy Oblast. One person was killed in a separate attack in Chasiv Yar.
Ukraine claimed to have "wiped out" a Russian long- and medium-range S-400 missile defense system known as "Triumph," destroying all missiles and personnel, near the village of Olenivka near Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea. According to reports, Ukrainian forces used a land attack variant of their domestically-produced R-360 Neptune missile.
Serhii Ilnytskyi, a member of the Kyiv City Council and a retired colonel of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, was killed in action in Kurdiumivka on the Donetsk front.
On his visit to Kyiv, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced the country's 18th military aid package to Ukraine, which was later announced to be worth 94 million euros ($101.5 million).
Wagner Group leaders Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov were killed along with seven others after their plane crashed in Kuzhenkino in Tver Oblast, outside Moscow. Russian authorities were yet to determine the cause of the disaster, but US intelligence believed that the crash may have been caused by a deliberate on-board explosion.
2023
August 22
In Russia, two drones were shot down near Moscow, with one hitting a 25-story building in Krasnogorsk, and resulting in the closure of the city's major airports. Two other drones were reportedly shot down over Bryansk Oblast, while two more were shot down over the Black Sea northwest of Crimea.
The Russian defence ministry claimed one of its fighter jets destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat sailing near Russian gas production facilities along the Black Sea.
Six people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts.
Ukrainian military intelligence claimed that Russia had sunk a ferry in the Kerch Strait and was planning to sink a total of six vessels in the waterway in order to provide a protective lane in the water in front of the Crimean Bridge.
General Sergey Surovikin, former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, was removed as commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces according to reports.
Ukraine announced plans to create a new military police force to replace the existing agency, which would be given powers to investigate war crimes, military indiscipline and other law enforcement functions.
2023
August 21
Two people were injured by falling debris from a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow. Some fifty flights were disrupted at Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhunovsky airports. Russia claimed to have shot down one drone and jammed another.
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Chernihiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that its forces had retaken three square kilometers of territory in the southern flank of Bakhmut in the past week, while Ukrainian military intelligence claimed that a Russian warplane was damaged in a drone attack in Kaluga Oblast.
Courts in the Russian-occupied Donbas sentenced five captured Ukrainian soldiers to up to 20 years imprisonment for alleged war crimes, some of which were purportedly committed during the Siege of Mariupol.
During his visit to Athens, President Zelenskyy announced that Greece had would train Ukrainian pilots on its F-16 fleet.
For the second consecutive year, destroyed Russian tanks and vehicles were installed in central Kyiv in a parade format as part of the 32nd anniversary celebrations of Ukrainian Independence Day.
2023
August 20
In Russia, a drone reportedly set fire to the roof of Kursk railway station, injuring five people. More drones were reported in Rostov Oblast, Belgorod and Moscow, forcing the closure of Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports.
Four people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
During a visit to the Netherlands, President Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would be receiving 42 F-16 fighter jets. After his arrival in Denmark later that day, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the country would supply Ukraine with the first batch of six F-16 fighter jets out of 19 promised before the end of the year.
2023
August 19
At least seven people, including a child, were killed and 156 others were injured in a Russian missile attack on Krasna Square in central Chernihiv that also damaged the city's drama theater and the Chernihiv Polytechnic National University. Most of the victims were on their way to church to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, while the theater was hosting a gathering of drone manufacturers. One person was killed in a separate attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, while more than 400 buildings were damaged by drone attacks in Medzhybizh and Derazhnia, both in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
The Russian military claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian missile over Crimea and “eliminated” about 150 Ukrainian soldiers trying to establish a foothold in the left bank of the Dnipro.
In Russia, a Tu-22M was reportedly damaged and another destroyed in an attack on an airfield in Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast.
Ukrainian officials announced that Ukrainian pilots had begun training on the usage of F-16 and Swedish Gripen fighter jets. During his visit to Stockholm, President Zelenskyy began talks with the Swedish government over acquiring Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters. He also announced that Ukraine would soon start manufacturing Swedish CV90 combat vehicles, while the Swedish government was working on a new military aid package worth $313.5 million.
The US announced an 18-month extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to Ukrainian refugees since the start of the invasion.
President Putin visited the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don as part of his first visit to the city since the Wagner Rebellion, meeting with commanders responsible for operations in Ukraine.
2023
August 18
The Mayor of Moscow claimed a drone was intercepted over the city center, with falling debris damaging the Expocentre. TASS, citing an emergency services source, reported that an outside wall had partly collapsed and the Vnukovo Airport was briefly shut down. The Russian MoD said that the drone "changed its flight path" after being detected by air defenses and flew into an empty non-residential building.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast.
Ukrainian military intelligence reported that an apparent drone attack struck the headquarters of the pro-Russian police in Enerhodar, injuring its chief, Colonel Pavlo Chesanov, his deputy and several senior officers.
The Washington Post reported that the Polish domestic intelligence service, the ABW, had thwarted an attempt by Russian intelligence to disrupt the transit of Western arms in the country to Ukraine using eastern Ukrainian refugees, adding that 16 people had been arrested, 12 of them Ukrainian.
Russia announced sanctions on 54 UK nationals and individuals working for UK institutions in retaliation for sanctions previously imposed by the British government over the invasion of Ukraine. Among those sanctioned were ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie, and executives and journalists from the BBC, the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.
Russian oil businessman Eugene Shvidler lost his High Court challenge against sanctions imposed on him by the UK government after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2023
August 17
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kharkiv Oblasts.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down two Ka-52 helicopters. One was downed near Robotyne with a MANPAD, a second was downed by the air force near Bakhmut.
Russia claimed to have shot down a drone over Belgorod Oblast and thwarted a naval drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet.
The SBU arrested a resident of Kyiv suspected of passing information to Russian military intelligence on military and energy infrastructure to use in future airstrikes.
Germany sent a military aid package to Ukraine consisting of two IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, 10 ground surveillance radar systems, four truck tractor trains, four semi-trailers, eight load-handling trucks and 4,500 rounds of 155 mm ammunition. General Daniel Zmeko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, visited Ukrainian positions in the southern front.
The United States approved the transfer of F-16s from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine after Ukrainian pilots have completed their training.
The NACP added the Chinese technology and e-commerce firm Alibaba to its "international sponsors of war" list for fiscally supporting Russia through paying taxes, facilitating the sale of copper from the Debaltseve Metallurgical Engineering Plant in occupied Luhansk Oblast, and censoring Ukrainian content on its platforms related to the war while leaving Russian posts unchecked.
2023
August 16
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Reni, damaging port and grain infrastructure. Three people were killed in separate attacks in Kharkiv, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts.
Ukraine claimed it had completely retaken Urozhaine.
Russia claimed to have downed three Ukrainian drones in Kaluga Oblast. and "eliminated" a group of four Ukrainian fighters who entered Bryansk Oblast.
The Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte, which had been trapped in Odesa since the invasion, left for Turkey in the first voyage of its kind since the Russian withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative under Ukraine's recently implemented temporary corridor.
A court in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast sentenced two members of the Azov Brigade to 24 years in prison for alleged war crimes during the Siege of Mariupol.
The Czech Republic imposed sanctions on Russian oligarch and CEO of missile manufacturer Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) Boris Obnosov, along with his daughter Olga and son-in-law, Rostislav Zorikov, both of whom had been living in Prague since 2020. The sanctions included a ban on entry into the country and an asset freeze. The United States also imposed sanctions on three firms owned or managed by Slovakian businessman Ashot Mkrtychev for attempting to facilitate North Korean arms exports to Russia.
The ISW reported that Russian lawmakers introduced a law that would ban photos and videos showing Russian military locations and deployments except those from the Defense Ministry and impose fines of up to 500,000 rubles or imprisonment for three years.
2023
August 15
Russia launched another overnight wave of air attacks across Ukraine, with explosions reported in Lutsk, where three people were killed in a strike at an industrial facility, as well as in the cities of Lviv and Dnipro and the oblasts of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed it had shot down 16 out of 28 missiles launched. Four people were killed in separate attacks in Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian military said it had prevented two Russian sabotage groups from entering Chernihiv Oblast. The Azov Brigade returned to action for the first time since the Siege of Mariupol, participating in military actions in the Serebrianskyi forest of Luhansk Oblast. President Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian positions at the Zaporizhzhia front.
Ukraine accused Russia of preparing to stage a false-flag attack at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
The Russian frigate Admiral Makarov returned to active duty after being damaged by a Ukrainian naval raid on Sevastopol in October 2022.
Stian Jenssen, chief of staff to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia in exchange for NATO membership. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the proposal “ridiculous”, and Jenssen subsequently withdrew his remarks, calling it a “mistake”.
2023
August 14
Russia launched an overnight air attack on Odesa, causing several fires and injuring three. Authorities said 203 buildings in the city were damaged, while the Air Force claimed to have shot all 23 drones and missiles launched.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed its forces had retaken three square kilometers of territory near Bakhmut in the past week, while President Zelenskyy made another visit to Ukrainian positions there.
The United States proposed a new military aid package to Ukraine valued at $200 million which would include "air defense munitions, artillery rounds, and additional mine-clearing equipment".
Rheinmetall said it would supply Luna drones to Ukraine by the end of the year.
2023
August 13
Five people, including a family of four, were killed by Russian shelling in Shyroka Balka, Kherson Oblast, while four others were killed in separate attacks in nearby Stanislav and Stepne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Ukraine claimed to have struck two ammunition depots and a site that hosted a "group" of Russian troops in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, Reuters, citing pro-Russian officials, reported that Ukrainian soldiers had gained a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine.
In occupied Mariupol, Ukrainian partisans reportedly set fire to a Russian military base near the Azovstal complex, resulting in the loss of at least ten Russian soldiers, three trucks, and five cars. In the nearby village of Urzuf, at least seven civilians were reported to have been killed in a crossfire during infighting between Chechen and regular Russian soldiers.
Russia claimed to have shot down two Ukrainian drones over Belgorod Oblast, while a third damaged a building in Belgorod city. Three people were reportedly injured by shelling in Volfino, Kursk Oblast.
In the Black Sea, the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov fired warning shots at the Turkish-owned, Palau-flagged cargo ship Sukru Okan en route to Izmail. The ship was subsequently boarded by Russian inspectors on board a Ka-29 helicopter before it was allowed to set sail. The incident was the first of its kind since Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 17 July.
A Turkish charter plane from Oslo to Antalya belonging to BBN Airlines briefly entered the no-fly zone imposed over Ukrainian airspace since the invasion, passing through Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi Oblasts before exiting into Romania. The Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that the pilots were forced to enter Ukraine after a storm forced a deviation of their original flight plan.
2023
August 12
Two people, a police officer and a 73-year-old woman, were killed in separate Russian attacks in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, and a missile struck Kryvyi Rih.
Russia claimed to have shot down 20 drones over Crimea, forcing the closure of the Crimean Bridge to traffic for two hours. Officials also claimed that Ukraine tried to strike the bridge with three S-200 missiles but were unsuccessful due to interception by air defences.
An explosion was reported in the port of occupied Berdiansk.
Ukrainian authorities reopened Odesa's beaches to swimmers for the first time since the invasion, but banned bathing during air raid alerts.
2023
August 11
Russia launched missile attacks on Kyiv and in Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia Oblasts. Missile debris reportedly caused damage to civilian properties in Kyiv. A child was killed in a missile attack in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, while another person was killed in Kherson. The Ukrainian Air Force later said that four missiles were launched towards Kolomyia airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, adding that they had shot down one of them over Kyiv.
The ISW, citing geolocated footage, assessed that Ukrainian forces had reached the northern outskirts of the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia front and the settlement of Urozhaine in the southern Donetsk front.
In Russia, a drone was reportedly shot down west of Moscow.
President Zelenskyy ordered the dismissal of all heads of all regional military enlistment offices across Ukraine after a nationwide inspection of recruitment offices revealed multiple violations, including corruption, power abuse, and fraud, adding that they were to be replaced with officers with combat experience who have been cleared by the SBU.
The SBU arrested a resident of Odesa for passing information on military bases and Russian airstrikes to the FSB.
The Netherlands donated six mobile medical complexes to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
The United States announced sanctions against the Russian Association of Employers and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), as well as four officials of the Alfa Group conglomerate, namely oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, German Khan, and Alexey Kuzmichev, for their role in financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine and in helping Russia evade previous sanctions.
2023
August 10
One person was killed and 16 others injured in another Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia city that struck a hotel hosting UN personnel, while four others were killed in separate attacks in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. An oil depot in Dubno Raion, Rivne Oblast was destroyed in a "massive" overnight Russian drone attack.
Ukraine ordered the mandatory evacuation of civilians from 37 settlements in Kupiansk Raion in Kharkiv Oblast due to increased Russian attacks and shelling. The Ukrainian Navy announced new temporary routes for civilian vessels moving to or from its Black Sea ports amid the Russian blockade.
Russia claimed to have shot down 11 drones near Sevastopol and two more near Moscow. Two people were reportedly killed by Ukrainian shelling in the village of Chausy, Bryansk Oblast.
The Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention added the alcohol distiller Bacardi to its International Sponsors of War list for continuing to do business in Russia despite previously promising to pull out following the invasion. An investigation by the newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia and the Interior Ministry found that $33 million worth of "winter" clothes purchased by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry for the military in 2022 turned out to be summer attire that could not be used for its original purposes. The defence ministry said the contracts for the clothes were concluded between the producer and a military unit without the ministry's involvement.
Azerbaijan pledged a mechanized demining machine to Ukraine and offered training by its demining experts for Ukrainian sappers.
2023
August 9
Three people were killed in a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia.
A Russian pilot, later identified as Maxim Kuzminov, defected to Ukraine, taking along his Mi-8 helicopter following a six-month operation by Ukrainian military intelligence, with the pilot's family also being extracted from Russia. During the defection, two crewmembers who were unaware of what was happening were reportedly killed. At a press conference on 4 September, he revealed he had also brought “stolen fighter jet spare parts” and received $500,000 as a reward.
The Mayor of Moscow said that two Ukrainian drones were shot down over the city's outskirts. The Governor of Bryansk Oblast claimed that Ukrainian shelling damaged buildings and infrastructure in the town of Bila Berezka.
The SBU arrested a woman in Zhytomyr Oblast who recently moved there from Donetsk Oblast on charges of spying for Russia and aiding airstrikes.
Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included two Patriot missile systems, 10 BV206 all-terrain vehicles, over 6,500 rounds of 155mm smoke ammunition, four Vector reconnaissance drones, five border protection vehicles, six truck tractor trains with six semi-trailers, two load-handling trucks, 100 MG5 machine guns, 40,000 first aid kits, explosive ordnance disposal material, binoculars, and safety glasses.
2023
August 8
The ISW, citing Russian milbloggers, reported that Ukrainian forces aboard seven boats had crossed the Dnipro river again near Kozachi Laheri, Kherson Oblast, and advanced by 800 meters after breaching Russian defenses. A source from the Ukrainian military later claimed to the Kyiv Independent that it had staged a raid there that captured 16 Russian soldiers.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Nikopol.
The SBU claimed it had thwarted an attempted cyberattack by a Russian hacking group called Sandworm using ten types of malware to collect intelligence from devices used by Ukrainian soldiers.
The U.K. Foreign Office announced its largest sanctions against third parties supporting the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Among those sanctioned included two Turkish firms supplying microelectronics components, a UAE-based firm supplying drones and drone components, Iranian individuals and entities involved in the drone industry, Belarusian defense organizations linked to the manufacturing of military technology, three Russian electronics companies procuring Western microelectronics and 22 other individuals facilitating foreign military supplies to Russia.
Rheinmetall purchased 50 Leopard 1 tanks from a private stockpile owned by Freddy Versluys, CEO of Belgian defense company OIP Land Systems to donate to Ukraine. The tanks had been bought from the Belgian military when the latter was cutting expenditures before the government unsuccessfully tried to buy them back again to donate to Ukraine.
2023
August 7
Ten people were killed and 82 injured by two Russian missile strikes on a residential area in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast in what Ukraine called a "double tap" attack that first hit residents and then rescuers who arrived in the area 37 minutes later.
Seven people were killed in separate Russian attacks in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kherson Oblasts.
22 POWs were returned to Ukraine after a prisoner swap with Russia.
In Russia, two drones were reportedly shot down over Belgorod and Kaluga Oblasts.
The SBU arrested a woman in relation to an attempt to assassinate President Zelenskyy during his visit to Mykolaiv in the previous week, accusing her of supplying information for a Russian air strike.
A Russian Ka-52 helicopter was reported shot down over Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
2023
August 6
A drone was reportedly shot down near Moscow, causing interruptions again at Vnukovo airport. The Ukrainian military struck the Chonhar bridge again with missiles, along with a smaller bridge on the Kherson-Crimea road in Henichesk. Pro-Russian officials presented images showing a hole in the middle of the roadway at Chonhar and claimed that Russian air defences shot down nine out of 12 missiles reportedly launched. Analysts believed that the strike was carried out by French or British supplied Storm Shadow missiles fired from Su-24s.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast.
2023
August 5
Residents reported an explosion near the Crimean Bridge, with reports saying that it was caused by a naval drone that damaged the Russian-flagged tanker Sig in the Kerch Strait, 27 kilometers south of the bridge, which was closed to traffic and had its lighting turned off. TASS quoted Russia's Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre who said that the ship's engine room was damaged but no casualties were reported. Two tugs were sent to assist the ship.
Later in the day, Russia launched a wave of missile strikes across Ukraine, with attacks reported on facilities of the aeronautical firm Motor Sich in Khmelnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, as well as on Zhytomyr and on a blood transfusion facility in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and injuring four. Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Sumy Oblasts.
The Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk claimed that a building of the Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade was set on fire by Ukrainian cluster munitions.
Russia claimed it had taken the village of Novoselivske, Luhansk Oblast, in the Kupiansk sector. However, the Ukrainian military denied the claim, saying that it had pushed back a Russian attack there.
Rami al-Farra, a resident of the Gaza Strip who moved to Russia following the Hamas takeover in 2007 and volunteered to fight in Ukraine under the Russian Defence Ministry, was reportedly killed in action, making him the first confirmed Palestinian fatality in the invasion.
2023
August 4
Russia claimed to have thwarted an attack by two Ukrainian naval drones on its naval base in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, and shot down ten drones over Crimea. However, a Ukrainian intelligence source claimed the naval attack caused a "serious breach" to the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Ropucha-class landing ship. Some 100 personnel were on board at the time. Separately, a source within the port said an unnamed ship had lost power forcing it to be towed ashore. Normal port operations were maintained during and after the attack.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces had managed to break through the Russian first line of defense and were moving to "intermediate" lines in some sections of the southern front.
In Russia, two administrative buildings and a church were reportedly damaged in a drone attack in Kursk.
The SBU accused Russia of plotting to stage a false flag attack on the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus in order to draw the latter into fully joining the Russian war effort in Ukraine, citing a Russian POW.
Poland arrested a Belarusian national suspected of being a member of a Russian spy ring tasked with derailing trains carrying aid to Ukraine and inciting anti-Ukrainian sentiment.
An IAEA inspection of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant found no mines or explosives on the roofs of two of the plant's six reactors, but found that mines laid around the plant grounds which had been observed during prior inspections were still in place.
Ukraine issued a NOTMAR announcement declaring a "war risk area" in the Russian Black Sea ports of Anapa, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik, Tuapse, Sochi and Taman.
Former Ukrainian MP Serhiy Slabenko was killed in action in the Zaporizhzhia front.
2023
August 3
Russia launched another overnight drone attack on Kyiv, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have shot down nearly a dozen drones. In Kherson, the 18th-century Saint Catherine's Cathedral, which housed the remains of nobleman Grigory Potemkin before it was taken by Russian forces during their withdrawal in 2022, was damaged by Russian shelling which also injured eight people across the city.
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast.
In Russia, six drones were reportedly shot down over Kaluga Oblast.
The SBU arrested a lawyer who formerly represented politicians from the pro-Russian Party of Shariy, accusing him of gathering information on air defenses and potential targets for Russia to use on airstrikes in Odesa. It also launched an investigation against People's Deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky for allegedly going on holiday in Spain under false pretenses despite wartime restrictions.
The EU announced more sanctions on Belarus, extending a ban on exports of highly sensitive goods and technologies contributing to the Belarusian military, and imposing an additional export ban on firearms and ammunition, as well as goods that can be used in the aviation and space industries. The European Commission said that sanctions were also meant to ensure that Russia could no longer use Belarus to evade sanctions.
2023
August 2
Russia launched overnight drone strikes over Kyiv, with authorities saying all ten drones launched were shot down. Another attack on the Danube river port of Izmail, Odesa Oblast, on the border with Romania, damaged grain export facilities and almost 40,000 tonnes of grain destined to African countries, China and Israel. Drone debris also reportedly landed on the adjacent Romanian town of Ceatalchioi, prompting an investigation by the Romanian government.
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
A Ukrainian soldier posted a video claiming to have found a Czech-made component from a Russian Lancet drone near Bakhmut. The component's manufacturer AXI Model Motors denied delivering products to the Russian military, but acknowledged that some of them had been obtained by Russia through third parties.
2023
August 1
Sergei Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, claimed that several drones were shot down over the city but one managed to strike the same building damaged by a drone strike on 30 July which housed offices of some federal ministries. Vnukovo Airport was also briefly closed again.
A military recruitment office in Saint Petersburg was set on fire by a man who claimed to have been contacted by the FSB to “gain access to documents sent to Ukraine". Russian media said it was the ninth such attack on recruitment centers across the country and in occupied Crimea in recent days, which authorities attributed to "phone scammers".
In Ukraine, two people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv and Kherson Oblasts.
An explosion was reported near Sevastopol, with conflicting reports describing it as coming from a drone which was shot down and crashed in the mountains, or from the logistics center of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian military said it had pushed back four Russian saboteurs who tried to cross the border at Chernihiv Oblast.
The SBU said it had arrested a businesswoman in Mykolaiv Oblast for passing information on Russian airstrikes to a blogger connected with the FSB.
The Soviet emblem was removed from the Motherland Monument in Kyiv amid continuing decommunization and derussification policies in Ukraine, with authorities planning to replace the logo with that of the Tryzub, which was completed on 6 August. The redesign was made in preparation for Ukraine's Independence Day on 24 August, and the monument was to be renamed Mother-Ukraine.
Poland accused Belarus of sending two military helicopters over its airspace, which the latter denied.
A media investigation following complaints from soldiers of substandard tourniquets found that the Ukrainian military failed to purchase first aid kits in 2023 and kits supplied by its allies were not inspected properly.
2023
July 31
At least six people, including a child, were killed and 75 others were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih. Six others were killed separate attacks in Kherson and Donetsk Oblasts.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar claimed that Ukrainian forces recaptured 15 square kilometres of territory during the last week, putting the total amount of territory retaken since the start of its counteroffensive at 204.7 square kilometres.
In Russia, a police station in Bryansk Oblast was reportedly hit by a drone.
The Ukrainian Finance Ministry said that it had received a $1.25 billion from the U.S. through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund of the World Bank as part of the Public Expenditures of Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) program meant to support the country's wartime social program, saying that it would partly be spent on social assistance for internally-displaced persons.
A Moscow court ordered the seizure of assets of the Russian subsidiary of the metallurgical firm Metinvest, which is owned by Ukraine's richest person Rinat Akhmetov, after the country's Investigative Committee accused him of using company funds to support the Azov Brigade.
Rheinmetal said it had started training workers for the factory that it had planned to open in western Ukraine in the autumn of 2023 to repair Leopard tanks.
2023
July 30
A Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow damaged two office buildings and led to an hour-long suspension of operations at Vnukovo International Airport. The Russian military claimed to have intercepted three drones, two of which hit the buildings. One person was injured. Russian forces also claimed Ukraine launched a drone attack on Crimea overnight, saying that 25 drones had been intercepted.
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kharkiv Oblasts, while a building was damaged by a missile in Kharkiv city.
At least six civilian vessels were reported to have broken through the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea towards Ukraine, subsequently arriving at the mouth of the Danube river, near the Romanian border.
2023
July 29
Two people were killed in a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia. Two others were killed in an attack on an educational institution in Sumy.
Pro-Russian officials in Kherson Oblast said Ukraine launched missile attacks on the railway between Henichesk and Dzhankoi, Crimea. The Ukrainian military later confirmed that it had struck the Chonhar bridge.
Ukraine was reported to have been using Grad rockets manufactured by North Korea that were supplied to the country after being seized by a “friendly” state.
President Zelenskyy met with Ukrainian special forces soldiers in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, on the occasion of the Day of the Special Operations Forces in Ukraine.
2023
July 28
Russia launched an evening missile attack at Dnipro, striking a building of the SBU and a residential building. Ten people were injured.
The headquarters of the Interior Ministry of the Donetsk People’s Republic in Donetsk city was reportedly damaged by a Ukrainian airstrike, while Ukraine claimed that saboteurs blew up an ammunition warehouse at Kozacha Bay, the headquarters of the Russian 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, in Crimea.
Ukraine's state nuclear energy firm Energoatom accused Russia of detaining and torturing Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant engineer Serhii Potynh since June.
In Russia, a missile strike was reported near a cafe in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, 40 kilometers from the internationally recognized Ukrainian border. Another missile was intercepted near Azov later in the day. 14 people were injured. An explosive was also reported to have been detonated at the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara Oblast. No injuries or serious damage was reported. A drone was also reported to have been shot down in Moscow Oblast.
President Zelenskyy signed a law moving the official celebration of Christmas in Ukraine from 7 January to 25 December, saying it was part of efforts to "renounce Russian heritage."
The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General filed criminal charges against Serhii Yevsiukov, the head of the Olenivka prison in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, and his deputy Kyrylo Shakurov, for violating international humanitarian law through the inhumane treatment, abuse and torture of at least 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
2023
July 27
Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts said that the Ukrainian military had launched a renewed drive in the Zaporizhzhia front, particularly in the direction of Melitopol. The Institute for the Study of War, also citing Russian sources, reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation" in the west of the oblast, adding that they appeared "to have broken through certain pre-prepared [sic] Russian defensive positions,” which was denied by pro-Russian officials. At the same time, Russian authorities closed off access to the Arabat Spit linking Crimea with mainland Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken the village of Staromaiorske in southern Donetsk Oblast after previously driving out Russian forces there.
Pro-Russian officials in Zaporizhzhia Oblast claimed that one person was injured by a Ukrainian rocket attack in Tokmak.
Russia launched another overnight missile strike on a port in Odesa Oblast, killing a civilian guard. One person was killed in an airstrike on a residential building in Kivsharivka, Kharkiv Oblast.
Japan imposed additional sanctions on Russia over the invasion, banning the export of vehicles fitted with 1,900 cc engines or greater, as well as vehicles with hybrid and electric motors to the country.
2023
July 26
Russia launched a missile attack on Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 36 missiles.
The New York Times reported that the Ukrainian military was to begin deploying Western-trained soldiers that had been held in reserve for its counteroffensive in the Zaporizhzhia front.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal announced that the government was allocating ₴40 billion ($1.08 billion) to develop the domestic drone industry.
Pro-Russian politician Vadym Rabinovych, former co-chair of the banned political party Opposition Platform — For Life who fled Ukraine after blaming it and the West for Russia's invasion, was charged with treason by the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation.
President Zelensky signed a law introducing a state register of sanctions.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Ukrainian pilots were to receive training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark and Romania, while U.K. was providing English-language lessons to the pilots.
People's Deputy of Ukraine Yuriy Aristov, from President Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, was charged with going on holiday in the Maldives using false pretenses despite the wartime ban on officials holidaying abroad. He later submitted his resignation to the Verkhovna Rada.
The International Olympic Committee formally excluded Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as part of its continuing response to the invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit announced that the country would end its boycott of sporting events that included Russian and Belarusian athletes as long as they compete as neutrals.
The United States said that it would assist in the International Criminal Court's investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, after reversing its previous stance citing fears of prosecution against US and allied parties.
2023
July 25
Russia launched another overnight drone attack on Kyiv. Authorities reported that all drones launched had been shot down. Attacks were also reported in Zhytomyr and Kharkiv Oblasts.
Four people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken the village of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut, and pushed out Russian forces from Staromaiorske in southern Donetsk Oblast. It also confirmed the use of US-supplied cluster munitions in Bakhmut. Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had taken the village of Serhiivka, near Lyman.
Trevor Reed, former US Marine who was released from Russian custody in 2019, was injured while fighting for Ukraine and was transferred to Germany for treatment. The US government denied involvement in his actions.
The SBU announced treason charges against pro-Russian politician and leader of the banned political party Nashi, Yevhen Murayev, who had left Ukraine in May 2022 and was said to be one of Russia's choices to head a puppet administration in the country.
Russia claimed it had thwarted an attack by two naval drones on its patrol ship Sergei Kotov in the Black Sea.
The Russian State Duma passed a law that raised the maximum age of conscription from 27 years to 30.
An IAEA inspection of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant found anti-personnel mines in a buffer zone between the site's internal and external perimeter barriers that was accessible only to the Russian military.
The United States pledged another military aid package to Ukraine worth $400 million, which included ammunition for air defense, rocket and artillery systems, while Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said foreign governments and NGOs pledged $244 million in funds and equipment for de-mining efforts in the country. Norway also donated $24 million to the European Peace Facility (EPF) program of the European Union, despite not being a member of it, to use in obtaining ammunition and spare parts for Leopard 2 tanks.
2023
July 24
A drone attack hit two unoccupied buildings, including a high-rise business center, in Moscow, forcing the closure of several thoroughfares in the city center. Two drones were involved and were "suppressed" before crashing. There were no reports of serious casualties or "serious" damage. The attack occurred about two kilometers from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia launched drone strikes on the Danube River port of Reni in Odesa Oblast, along the border with Romania. Authorities said four people were injured, while a grain hangar, storage tanks and three warehouses were bombed. Three out of about 15 drones launched were reportedly shot down. Three people, including two children, were killed by Russian cluster bombing in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast.
Officials in Crimea said a Ukrainian drone caused an explosion at an ammunition depot in Dzhankoi, leading to evacuations within a five-kilometer radius, while another drone damaged a home in Kirovske raion. 11 drones were reportedly shot down, while rail services in Dzhankoi Raion and the Dzhankoi-Simferopol highway were closed.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken 12.7 square kilometers of territory in the southern front and 4 square kilometers in the eastern front, increasing the total amount of territory retaken since the start of the counteroffensive to 192.1 square kilometers. It also claimed to have advanced by up to 1.4 kilometers towards Berdiansk.
2023
July 23
Russia launched another overnight missile attack on Odesa, killing two people and injuring 19 others. The Orthodox Transfiguration Cathedral, the city's largest, was severely damaged. Russia claimed to have struck naval drone production facilities but denied targeting the cathedral. Altogether, 25 architectural monuments were damaged in the historic Centre of Odesa according to local authorities. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down nine out of 19 missiles launched at the city.
An aid distribution point housed in a cultural center in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, was reportedly destroyed by Russian cluster bombing. No casualties were reported.
Six housing facilities and a power line were damaged by Russian shelling in Nikopol.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Ukraine had recaptured about 50% of territory seized by Russian forces.
Yehor Chernev, member of the Verkhovna Rada and Deputy Chairman of the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, announced a new Ukrainian air defence system was being tested. Called the SD-300, it was described as a medium range system with a limit of 100 kilometers.
2023
July 22
A drone attack on an ammunition dump in Krasnohvardiiske Raion, Crimea led to evacuations within a five kilometer radius. Traffic on the Crimean Bridge was also briefly suspended.
Seven people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts.
Four Russian journalists were wounded on the Zaporizhzhia front near Piatykhatky by Ukrainian shelling according to the Russian MoD. One of them, Rostislav Zhuravlev of RIA Novosti, later died of his wounds while being evacuated. Russia claimed cluster munitions were used without providing evidence. Meanwhile, a camera operator for Deutsche Welle was injured after an apparent Russian cluster bombing of Ukrainian positions near Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, also killing one Ukrainian soldier.
An explosion was reported at the residence of Heorhii Zhuravko, the Russian-installed mayor of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast.
Yehor Cherniev, deputy chair of the Verkhovna Rada's defense committee and head of Ukraine's parliamentary delegation to NATO, announced that the country had developed its own medium-range air defense systems that were similar to the Hawk defense system, describing the results of initial tests as "quite successful."
The Ukrainian Economy Ministry said Sweden pledged 522.6 million euros ($581 million) for Ukraine's recovery, with the funds being directed toward the Cooperation Strategy for Reconstruction and Reforms in Ukraine between 2023-2027 and focused on infrastructure reconstruction, green development, entrepreneurship, trade, demining, and media initiatives.
2023
July 21
Russia launched two separate missile attacks on Odesa. The first attack occurred overnight at a grain terminal, with Ukrainian authorities claiming two people were injured and that 100 tonnes of peas and 20 tonnes of barley had been destroyed. A second attack occurred in the morning.
Eight people, including two children were killed in separate Russian attacks in Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts. The Ukrainian military claimed to have thwarted attacks by Russian sabotage groups in Sumy and Chernihiv Oblasts.
Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom accused the Yuri Chernichuk, the Russian-installed general director of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant of pressuring Ukrainian plant workers who have refused to sign contracts with Russia's state nuclear operator to activate reactor number 4 due a lack of skilled Russian specialists.
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, was sacked following a decree from President Zelenskyy. No reason was given. He was also dismissed from his role as the Ukrainian representative to the International Maritime Organization. In the past week, Prystaiko had criticized Zelenskyy's comments regarding Ukraine's alleged lack of gratitude to the UK for military aid.
Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who commanded separatist fighters during the War in Donbas and was convicted in absentia by a Dutch court for the MH-17 shootdown in 2015, was detained by the FSB according to his wife Miroslava, on charges of extremism. He had been an open critic of Putin and his generals’ handling of the war in Ukraine, and called for his overthrow earlier in the week. The RBC newspaper reported that his arrest was possibly related to a petition from a member of the Wagner Group.
The Ukrainian government formally moved to nationalize Sense Bank, whose owner, Ukrainian-born Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, was previously sanctioned for financially and logistically supporting the invasion of Ukraine.
The Bulgarian Parliament approved the transfer of around 100 Soviet-era armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
2023
July 20
Russia launched another wave of airstrikes on Odesa and Mykolaiv. 18 people were injured and 2 killed in Mykolaiv after an apartment was struck, while two others were injured in Odesa. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down five out of 19 missiles launched.
Seven people were killed in separate Russian attacks in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
One person was reportedly killed in a drone attack in northwestern Crimea, while pro-Ukrainian officials claimed that the "Ukrainian House" cultural center in Mariupol was set on fire by unidentified individuals using explosives.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have "semi-encircled" Russian forces in Bakhmut. Officers told the Washington Post that it had used US-made cluster munitions for the first time against Russian trenches in the southeastern front. US officials later confirmed this, saying that the munitions have been used "effectively".
The SBU arrested an employee of Ukrainian Railways in Dnipro for passing security and military information to Russia in preparation for attacks on transport infrastructure.
Australia announced sanctions against 35 firms supplying advanced technology and equipment to the Russian military and firms involved in nuclear energy and Arctic resource extraction. This included JSC Russian Helicopters and JSC Concern Kalashnikov. 10 individuals were also sanctioned, including the respective CEOs of the aforementioned firms Nikolai Kolesov and Vladimir Lepin, as well as Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, and senior Belarusian officials "who have threatened Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The US announced more sanctions on individuals and firms linked to the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Among those sanctioned were Alexei Kudrin, a close ally of Putin and corporate development advisor for the technology firm Yandex, and Russian national Valery Chekalov and North Korean citizen Yong Hyuk Rim, both of whom supplied the Wagner group with ammunition. Five Russian banks and several companies based in Kyrgyzstan were also sanctioned, the latter for supplying Russia with dual-use technology to bypass sanctions.
In an interview with Fox News, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that Ukraine would receive F-16 fighter jets by the end of 2023.
Germany formally turned over the first 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks it had previously pledged to Ukraine, as well as 20 MG3 machine guns for armored vehicles, over 1,000 155mm artillery rounds, more than 2,000 155mm smoke ammunition, one new bridge system, 12 accompanying trailers, four border protection vehicles, 10 ground surveillance radars, 16 Zetros trucks, 100,000 first aid kits, and 80 reconnaissance drones.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko resigned after President Zelenskyy criticized the ministry's overspending in spite of the ongoing conflict.
2023
July 19
Russia launched another wave of airstrikes on Odesa, where an apartment and a building of the Chinese consulate was reportedly damaged, as well as on Kyiv using drones and missiles. One person was killed and 12 people were wounded in Odesa, while the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 14 missiles and 23 drones. President Zelenskyy and other officials said the strikes in Odesa targeted infrastructure for exporting grain. The Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said 60,000 tons of grain were destroyed by airstrikes in the port of Chornomorsk, Odesa Oblast.
Four people were killed in separate Russian attacks in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have pushed out Russian forces from their positions near the village of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, northwest of Bakhmut.
In Crimea, explosions were heard in Sevastopol, while explosions at the Krynychky military training ground near Staryi Krym in Kirovske Raion forced the closure of the nearby Tavrida Highway. More than 2,000 residents of four villages near the site were evacuated, and unconfirmed reports said that the blasts were caused by three Ukrainian airstrikes.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced that it would attack cargo ships servicing Ukrainian ports starting on 20 July. In response, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry threatened to attack cargo ships servicing Russian and occupied ports in the Black Sea. The Russian Foreign Ministry later clarified that all ships sailing in the Black Sea were to be inspected for military cargo.
In an interview made in occupied Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast aired on state TV channel Belarus-1, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, Dzmitry Shautsou, wearing military clothes with the Z symbol, openly admitted to the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas to Belarus for “health improvement” reasons, saying that it would continue to do so. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies dissociated itself from his statements, while expressing "grave concern" and demanding a halt to the practice. It also triggered an investigation by the body's investigative committee.
In his first public appearance since the end of the Wagner Rebellion, Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces would no longer fight in Ukraine and focus on training soldiers in Belarus and maintaining its activities in Africa instead.
The South African Presidency confirmed that Vladimir Putin had agreed not to attend the BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg in August and would instead be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously warned that any attempt to arrest Putin while he was in the country based on the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court would be equivalent to a "declaration of war." The South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development later issued a warrant for Putin's arrest on 21 July.
The United States announced a new $1.3 billion military aid package to Ukraine that would include 4 NASAMS systems, Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), precision aerial munitions, 152mm artillery rounds, mine clearing equipment, electronic warfare and drone detection equipment, and port security equipment, 165 tactical vehicles and 150 fuel trucks.
During a visit to Odesa shortly after the airstrikes, USAID chief Samantha Power pledged $250 million to support Ukraine's agriculture sector through the Agriculture Resilience Initiative-Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pledged 5 million euros ($5.6 million) in humanitarian aid through the UN Humanitarian Fund and the Red Cross during his state visit to Kyiv and Bucha.
2023
July 18
Russia launched a wave of airstrikes on southern Ukraine using drones and missiles. One attack led to a fire in the port of Mykolaiv, while another attack on Odesa injured one person. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 32 out of 37 drones and all 6 missiles launched, most of which were intercepted over Odesa Oblast. The Kremlin said the attacks were in retaliation for the Crimean Bridge attack on 17 July.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Dvorichna, Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia claimed to have shot down 28 drones over Crimea. It also claimed that its forces advanced 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) towards Kupiansk, which was denied by Ukrainian Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The defence ministers of the Low Countries pledged to provide Ukraine with refurbished M113 armored vehicles.
2023
July 17
Traffic was stopped on the Crimean bridge following reports of two explosions. The bridge partially collapsed along one span with rail services being stopped. Two occupants of a car were killed, while a third passenger was injured. Russia's Anti-Terrorist Committee claimed that Ukraine used unmanned surface drones to attack the bridge. Russian officials expected repairs to last until November. Nevertheless, the bridge reopened to traffic the next day, albeit with only one lane open. Ukraine formally admitted to launching the attack on 3 August.
Six people were killed in separate Russian attacks in Donetsk, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said it had retaken 18 square kilometers (7 square miles) of territory during its counteroffensive in the past week, raising the total amount of territory it retaken since June to 210 square kilometers (81 square miles).
On the last day of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia said it was not being extended. Global wheat prices subsequently rose by as much as 8.5% in the succeeding days, while corn prices increased by 5.4%.
The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on 14 Russians over their involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and efforts to eradicate Ukrainian culture and identity. Among those sanctioned were Ksenia Mishonova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in Moscow Oblast, Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov, RT presenter Anton Krasovsky, who publicly called for the murder of Ukrainian children, and Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova. The SBU later imposed additional charges against Krasovsky, who had already been sentenced in absentia by Ukraine to five years imprisonment, for incitement to genocide.
2023
July 16
One person was killed by a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv, while another was killed in an airstrike in Zmiivka, Kherson Oblast.
Explosions were reported in cities across Russian-occupied Ukraine, including in Luhansk, Berdiansk and Mariupol. Officials in Sevastopol claimed ten drones were shot down over the city.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have advanced by more than one kilometer towards Berdiansk while acknowledging Russian advances in Kupiansk and in Lyman, subsequently assessing that Russia had deployed more than 100,000 personnel, more than 900 tanks, more than 555 artillery systems and 370 self-propelled guns in those areas.
In Russia, the FSB claimed to have discovered and thwarted an assassination plot by neo-Nazis working on behalf of Ukraine against Margarita Simonyan, chief editor of the state-controlled international news channel RT, and TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak. Seven people were subsequently arrested.
One person was reported to have been killed by Ukrainian shelling in Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast.
The last grain ship left Odesa under the extended Black Sea Grain Initiative set to expire on 17 July.
2023
July 15
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Kolodiazne, Kharkiv Oblast, while another person was killed in Kherson after a projectile which he was trying to disassemble in his garage exploded.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed the S-400 missile unit responsible for the Kramtorsk restaurant attack on 27 June with a HIMARS missile.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Kyiv. He also went to Bucha and Irpin and met with President Zelenskyy. He promised “de-mining equipment and ambulances” and announced that South Korea would join NATO's trust fund for Ukraine.
Major General Vladimir Seliverstov, commander of the Russian 106th Guards Airborne Division which saw action during the Battle of Bakhmut was reportedly removed from his position, with sources speculating that it could have been caused by him complaining about his soldiers' conditions.
2023
July 14
Russia launched a series of drone attacks across southern Ukraine, with attacks reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts. One person was injured in Zaporizhzhia city, while another was injured in Kryvyi Rih.
Ukrainian forces claimed to have advanced 1.7 kilometers in the direction of Melitopol in the past week and destroyed nine Russian ammunition depots and 33 vehicles and heavy equipment in the southern front.
A South Korean presidential adviser said that the country would provide $52 billion to finance reconstruction projects in Ukraine, including in the rebuilding of water infrastructure affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
The Belarusian Defence Ministry said that the Wagner Group had begun training soldiers in the country and released a video showing Wagner fighters instructing Belarusian soldiers at a military range near Osipovichi, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) southeast of the capital Minsk. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine later confirmed their arrival, saying that they did not believe they posed a serious threat to Ukraine but could be used to destabilize the situation along the border.
2023
July 13
One person was killed and four others were injured in a third consecutive overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv. Attacks were also reported in Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had intercepted all 20 Shahed drones launched, as well as two Kalibr cruise missiles. Four people were killed by Russian shelling in different parts of the country.
Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Tavriia military sector deployed in the southern front, told CNN that they had started receiving cluster munitions from the United States.
Spain pledged an aid package to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine that would include personnel training in Spain and the donation of a mobile hospital and medical evacuation vehicles.
The US Department of Defense assessed that the Wagner Group was no longer participating significantly in military operations in Ukraine.
2023
July 12
NATO Summit
On the closing day of the NATO Summit in Lithuania, President Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would receive new Patriot systems and missiles from Germany and armored vehicles from Canada. However, he insisted on demanding a formal invitation to join NATO, which he called "ideal".
Australia pledged 30 more Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles for Ukraine, while Norwegian Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said it would send 1,000 Black Hornet drones and two NASAMS units. The United Kingdom also pledged a new military aid package that included more than 1,000 rounds for Challenger 2 tanks, more than 70 combat and logistics vehicles, and a $65 million contract for equipment maintenance, as well as the establishment of a military rehabilitation center. Germany also presented a $770 million aid package that included additional Patriot air defense units, while members of the G7 also agreed to provide long-term military and financial support to Ukraine.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an additional CA$541 million ($410 million) aid package to Ukraine, which included drone cameras. He also announced that Canada would host Ukrainian cadets at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean for training and expand that of Ukrainian soldiers in Latvia. Canada also pledged to provide Ukraine with an additional $37 million in its Comprehensive Assistance Package, including fuel, logistics equipment, and medical supplies, as well as $2 million for cyber security assistance.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed that Ukrainian pilots would begin training on how to use F-16 fighter jets in Romania in August. He also signed two agreements with Sweden over defense procurements and the intelligence-sharing.
2023
July 12
Russia launched another overnight drone attack on Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 11 out of 15 drones launched. Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast, while 21 people were injured in an airstrike on Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet deployed a new camouflage scheme designed to hide its ships and their size from satellites to reduce the risk of detection and attack from Ukraine, which is only detectable through artificial intelligence.
Major General Ivan Popov, commander of the Russian 58th Combined Arms Army deployed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, was removed from his post. In a Telegram message posted by a Russian MP, he claimed to have been fired by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu after complaining about inadequacies in logistics that led to high casualties among his men and accusing his superiors of treason.
The Ukrainian General Staff claimed to have retaken 162 square kilometers (63 square miles) of territory since the start of its counteroffensive in June, while the Institute for the Study of War's (ISW) estimate was 253 square kilometers (98 square miles). The latter also estimated Russian gains since the start of the year at 282 square kilometers.
2023
July 11
NATO Summit
On the opening day of NATO's 2023 Vilnius summit, member states affirmed their support for Ukraine becoming part of the alliance, pending certain conditions, and confirmed that they had decided to drop the Membership Action Plan required for previous applicants in the case of Ukraine. However, NATO leaders offered no clear timetable or formal invitation as to when Ukraine could actually join.
President Emmanuel Macron said that France would supply MBDA-made SCALP missiles, its own version of the British Storm Shadow missile, on condition that its usage is limited to Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov signed a memorandum that formally created a coalition of 11 states (Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) that had agreed to procure F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots in their use, as well a deal with French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu that formalized a $187 million military aid agreement.
2023
July 11
Russia launched another drone strike overnight on Kyiv and Odesa. Ukrainian authorities reported no casualties and that 26 out of 28 drones launched were shot down. A woman was killed by shelling in Sofiivka, Kherson Oblast, while another was killed in Huliapole, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
A hotel used to house senior Russian military officials and the headquarters of the 58th Combined Arms Army was reportedly destroyed by an missile strike in Berdiansk. Among those reportedly killed was Lieutenant-General Oleg Tsokov, the deputy commander of the Russian Southern Military District, making him the highest ranking Russian officer killed during the invasion. Explosions reported at Novooleksiivka, Kherson Oblast, were believed to have come from a Russian ammunition dump.
Russian forces claimed to have advanced by 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) near Lyman.
In Russia, Navy Captain Stanislav Rzhitsky, deputy head of military mobilization efforts in Krasnodar, was shot and killed while jogging. As commander of the submarine Krasnodar based in the Black Sea, he was accused of having launched missiles that struck Vinnytsia in July 2022 and killed 23 civilians, although his father claimed he had left active service prior to the invasion in 2021.
2023
July 10
Seven people were killed and 13 others were injured in a Russian bombing raid on a school hosting aid distribution operations in Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Two people were killed in separate artillery attacks in Donetsk Oblast. A Russian S-300 missile struck Mykolaiv, no casualties were reported.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that it had retaken 10 square kilometers of territory in the southern front and 4 square kilometers in the eastern front over the past week. It also claimed to have advanced more than one kilometer towards Melitopol and Berdiansk. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed its forces had recaptured key heights around Bakhmut and subjected all access points to the city under its line of fire.
In an interview with CNN, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger announced that the firm would open an armored vehicle plant in western Ukraine within the next 12 weeks and hire and train Ukrainian staff to maintain its products.
Australia said it would deploy a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to Germany along with up to as 100 crew and personnel to monitor vital humanitarian and military supply lines to Ukraine for the next six months. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the aircraft would not conduct missions over Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian airspace.
2023
July 9
Two people were injured in separate Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast.
The Russian-installed head of Crimea claimed that a cruise missile was shot down near Kerch, while the Crimean Bridge was temporarily closed to traffic. The exiled mayor of Melitopol claimed an explosion occurred at a Russian military base near the city. Russian forces also claimed to have shot down three missiles over Bryansk and Rostov Oblasts, destroying a sawmill in the process.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Poland had recently sent Ukraine about a dozen Soviet-era Mi-24 attack helicopters in an undisclosed transfer, citing anonymous sources.
2023
July 8
Nine people were killed and 12 others injured in a Russian rocket attack on residential areas of Lyman, Donetsk Oblast. Another person was killed in a separate attack in Avdiivka.
In Russia, the Governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed that missiles hit part of the central market of Shebekino.
After a visit to Turkey to secure President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s support for Ukraine's NATO membership, President Zelenskyy announced that he had secured the return of five commanders of the Ukrainian garrison at the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant who were taken prisoner after the Siege of Mariupol and were living in Turkey as part of an agreement with Russia. The Kremlin later complained that it was a violation of that said agreement and criticized Turkey for allowing it. He later visited Snake Island to commemorate the 500th day of the invasion.
2023
July 7
Two people were killed in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after their car was hit by debris during an overnight Russian drone attack. Another drone hit a business in Kryvyi Rih Raion, causing a fire but no casualties. The Ukrainian military said 18 Shahed drones were launched at targets in eastern and southern Ukraine, of which 12 were shot down. Later in the day, a Russian missile caused a fire at an infrastructure facility in Zaporizhzhia.
The Biden administration approved the deployment of DPICM cluster munitions to Ukraine fired from 155mm shells as part of its 42nd aid package to Ukraine as "a bridge of supplies" until US domestic production can catch up. This also included more M2 Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles along with ammunition for the HIMARS rocket system. The total package was estimated to be worth more than $800 million.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that he would send additional attack helicopters and "hundreds of thousands" of rounds of large-caliber ammunition "in the coming months" to Ukraine following President Zelenskyy's visit to Prague.
Germany delivered a new military aid package to Ukraine which included Beaver bridge-laying vehicles, Dachs armored engineering vehicles, three radio jammers, two anti-drone sensors and jammers, six HX81 truck tractor trains, and three semi-trailers.
The IAEA said that it had not found evidence of explosives being planted inside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in recent inspections as claimed by Ukraine. However, it demanded access to more areas of the facility, including the rooftops of the reactors, which had been closed off by Russian occupation authorities purportedly for security reasons.
2023
July 6
Ten people were killed and 42 others were injured in a Russian missile attack on an apartment in Lviv. 35 buildings and 50 cars were also damaged, while the Governor of Lviv Oblast also confirmed that a "critical infrastructure facility" was struck, while a house was damaged by missile debris in Zolochiv. The Ukrainian Culture Ministry said the attack led to damage in the buffer zone around the city's historic center, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Mayor of Lviv called it the largest attack on civilian infrastructure“ in the city since the start of the invasion. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down seven out of ten Kalibr missiles launched at the city from the Black Sea. Two people were killed in separate attacks in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts respectively.
The Odnorobivka train station in Bohodukhiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, was destroyed by Russian shelling.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced the return of 45 POWs and four civilian deportees, including two children, from Russia.
The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine ordered the seizure of an An-140-100 aircraft belonging to the sanctioned Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec following a lawsuit by the Justice Ministry. The plane had been sent to the Antonov workshop in Ukraine for repairs at the time of the invasion in 2022 and was valued at Hr 150 million ($4 million).
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Yevgeny Prigozhin had returned from Belarus to St. Petersburg and that his Wagner forces were still in their bases in Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine. However, he denied that it signaled the collapse of the deal he had reached to end the Wagner Group's rebellion.
The Finnish Defence Ministry announced a 105 million euros ($114 million) defence package to Ukraine that would include anti-aircraft weapons and ammunition.
The British Defence Ministry assessed that Russia was redeploying troops from as far as the Caucasus region and its border with China to reinforce its positions in Ukraine, while a Ukrainian military official said that Russia was looking to recruit 500,000 personnel to replenish its armed forces.
2023
July 5
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Bilozerka, Kherson Oblast.
Ukrainian officials accused the Russian military of having used the chemical weapon Lewisite at the front around Bakhmut.
Russian media claimed that a Ukrainian artillery strike caused a fire at an oil depot in Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast, citing the town's mayor.
Ukraine imposed sanctions on 18 holding companies linked to Russia and its war effort.
2023
July 4
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, while another was killed in Dalnie, Donetsk Oblast. At least 43 people, including 12 children, were injured in an attack on a residential area in Pervomaiskyi, Kharkiv Oblast, with a former commander of the Azov Brigade claiming that the attack targeted a military funeral.
In occupied Donetsk Oblast, Russia claimed one person was killed and 36 others were injured in a Ukrainian attack in Makiivka. The Ukrainian military said it had destroyed a Russian military formation there.
Russia claimed to have shot down four drones outside Moscow while jamming a fifth with electronic warfare, forcing it to crash into the Odintsovo district of Moscow Oblast, some 30 kilometers southwest of the capital. No casualties were reported. Flights from Vnukovo International Airport were temporarily suspended.
2023
July 3
A drone attack on Sumy killed three people and injured nineteen. Two private properties and an government building were also damaged. The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down thirteen out of seventeen Shahed drones launched at the country. Three others died in shelling across Sumy Oblast, while another was killed in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that Ukrainian forces had recaptured 9 square kilometers of territory in the east and 28.4 square kilometers in the south during the previous week. She also claimed Ukrainian forces had sunk two Russian military vessels carrying 66 soldiers in Mykolaiv Oblast. In contrast, the Russian-installed governor of Kherson Oblast, Vladimir Saldo, claimed that Ukrainian forces had been dislodged from their bridgehead at the Antonivskyi Bridge, which was disputed by Western defense and intelligence analysts.
The IAEA announced that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant had been reconnected to its only available backup power line after a section of it on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River was damaged on 1 March.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported that the FSB foiled an assassination attempt on Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, adding that it had detained a Russian national who had reportedly been recruited by the SBU to kill Aksyonov using a car bomb.
Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) placed Unilever to its list of sponsors of Russia's war on the country for continuing investments in Russia despite promises to pull out.
The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, a body tasked with investigating Russian war crimes in the country, opened at the headquarters of the European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, in The Hague, Netherlands.
Yevgeny Pisarenko, a commander of the Chechen Akhmat Unit, was reportedly killed in action in the Donbas.
2023
July 2
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv for the first time in 12 days, wounding one person. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down all drones. Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast.
Fighting broke out in Kherson Oblast, as the Institute for the Study of War assessed that 70 Ukrainian soldiers had landed under the Russian-controlled end of the Antonivskyi Bridge on the left bank of the Dnipro river, in the first incident of its kind since the alteration of the river's course in the area following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces were advancing towards Berdyansk and Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia front, but acknowledged Russian advances in Lyman, Avdiivka and Marinka in the Donetsk front. Russia also launched an offensive around Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, attacking the towns of Bilohorivka and Serebryanka.
The mayor of Enerhodar said that 100 employees of the Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom had left the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
In Russia, a missile attack was reported at the Primorsko-Akhtarsk air base in Krasnodar Krai.
Organizers announced the cancellation of the biannual MAKS Air Show outside Moscow scheduled for later in July, that served as a showcase for Russian aerospace technology. British intelligence believed that the cancellation was due to fears of low attendance from international delegations and threats of Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Wagner Group suspended the operations of its physical recruitment centers for a month, while keeping its call centers open for applications. Poland announced it was sending 500 police and counterterrorist forces to reinforce its border with Belarus following the Wagner Group's redeployment there and to prevent migrants from illegally crossing the border.
2023
July 1
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Mala Tokmachka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Ukraine announced sanctions on 189 Russian nationals, including Pavel Shatskikh, the director of Elektropribor, a leading aircraft enterprise, in Kazan. Sanctions were also imposed on nearly 300 companies linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including its largest space industry company Energia. Two Belarusians, including Aleksei Shkadarevich, the director of LEMT Scientific and Technical Center in Minsk, and Georgian businessman Tamaz Gaiashvili, the founder of Georgian Airways, were also sanctioned, the latter for opening direct flights to Russia and offering transit flights to circumvent airspace bans by Western countries on Russian aircraft.
2023
June 30
In Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed in a Russian attack on a school in Serhiivka, while one person was killed by shelling in Mykolaivka.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have struck a Russian headquarters and a fuel and lubricant warehouse in Berdiansk airport with 10 Storm Shadow missiles. At the time, the airport was being used by Russian helicopters defending against the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian forces claimed to have shot down at least one missile.
Ukrainian military intelligence reported a reduction in the number of Russian military personnel stationed at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and in the nearby town of Enerhodar, as well as an advisory to employees to leave the facility before 5 July and blame Ukraine for any untoward incident at the plant.
Ukraine was accused of using banned anti-personnel landmines by Human Rights Watch, which documented the Ukrainian usage of rockets that spread PFM-1 and PFM-1S land mines despite Ukraine ratifying the Ottawa Treaty banning such weapons in 2005.
President Zelenskyy ordered the reinforcement of defenses along Ukraine's border with Belarus following the Wagner Group's redeployment there.
Denmark announced it would provide Ukraine with a DKK 1.3 billion ($190 million) military aid package that would include air defense missiles and funds for the purchase of artillery ammunition. In contrast, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced his opposition to a planned aid package of the European Union worth 50 billion euros ($55 billion) to Ukraine unless it accounts for the distribution of previous aid.
2023
June 29
Two people were killed by Russian shelling at a relief distribution center in Kherson. Another person was also killed by Russian shelling in nearby Bilozerka, while three others died in separate attacks across Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Colonel-General Andrei Yudin, General Sergei Surovikin's deputy, was dismissed from the Russian army.
The World Bank approved the $1.5 billion-Ukraine Relief and Recovery Development Policy Loan, guaranteed by the Japanese government, to provide and fund relief to households, reforms to transparency over public resources, and support for markets in Ukraine.
2023
June 28
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast.
Six explosions were reported in Russian-occupied Melitopol. The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet.
In Russia, the Moscow Times and a military blogger reported that General Sergei Surovikin was arrested and detained at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow for allegedly supporting the Wagner Rebellion. Meanwhile, President Putin visited Derbent, Dagestan, and celebrated Eid al-Adha at a mosque in his first non-official public appearance since the Wagner rebellion.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced that the country had acquired two launchers for the NASAMS air defense system and was planning to donate them to Ukraine, while his defense minister, Arvydas Anušauskas, also announced the delivery of 10 M113 armored vehicles and thousands of anti-tank munitions for grenade launchers. The country also introduced a temporary ban on land transport of 57 types of dual-use goods, mainly microelectronics and semiconductor components, that could reach Russia or Belarus and be used in the war against Ukraine.
Switzerland blocked the export of 96 Leopard 1 tanks to Germany, where they were to have been modernized and delivered to Ukraine, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality. However, it expanded its sanctions list on Russian entities to correspond with the latest sanctions announced by the EU.
The Hero of Ukraine award was given to Colonel Serhii Yaremenko, commander of the 96th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, for shooting down 13 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
2023
June 27
A Russian missile hit a restaurant in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killing 13, including writer Victoria Amelina, and injuring 61 people. The attack, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General, was carried out by an Iskander missile. Russian sources claimed that the site was used for “banqueting” by the Ukrainian military. At the time the restaurant had an estimated 80 people in it with more potentially trapped. A man was subsequently arrested by the SBU on suspicion of directing Russian fire at the restaurant while working for the GRU and charged with treason. In the nearby settlement of Bilenke, another missile strike injured 15.
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts. Missiles were also fired at Kremenchuk, coinciding with the first anniversary of the missile attack on a shopping mall in the city that killed 20 civilians.
In Belarus, President Lukashenko confirmed the arrival of the Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin in the country, saying that he was welcome to stay "for some time", while construction of camps for the group was reported to have begun in Mogilev Region. However, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stated there was no evidence that such camps were being built.
The Pentagon announced a $500-million military aid package for Ukraine that would include 30 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Stryker armored vehicles, AT4 and Javelin anti-armor weapons, as well as Stinger anti-aircraft weapons. The package also included ammunition for Patriot air defense systems, HIMARS and Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, and 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, as well as other types of munitions and support equipment.
Rheinmetall announced that it would supply Ukraine with 14 additional Leopard 2A4s on behalf of the Dutch government starting January 2024.
2023
June 26
Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Kherson and in Nikopol.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian military claimed that Russian forces fired a "chemical aerosol munition with suffocating effect on one of the positions." The attack was said to have occurred in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Ukraine claimed that the wind blew the "aerosol munition" back to Russian positions.
President Zelenskyy visited the southern front. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that its forces had retaken 17 square kilometres (10.5 square miles) in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the past week, while a total of 130 square kilometres (81 squares miles) of territory had been liberated since the start of the counteroffensive.
Wagner's Yevgeny Prigozhin released his first statement since the end of his rebellion against the Russian establishment, saying in an 11-minute audio message that he had acted to prevent the destruction of his military outfit and that he did not intend to topple the Russian government. On the same day, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since the revolt, with video showing him visiting troops in Ukraine. In his first public statements since the revolt, President Putin continued to denounce Prigozhin's actions, while accusing Ukraine and the West of wanting to see civil conflict in Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said that its Su-27 fighter jets intercepted an RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft and two Typhoon fighter jets of Britain's Royal Air Force over the Black Sea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a AU$110 million ($73.5 million)-military package to Ukraine, which was to include 28 M113 armoured vehicles, 14 special operations vehicles, 28 medium trucks and 14 trailers as well as an additional supply of 105mm artillery ammunition. He also extended duty-free access for goods imported from Ukraine for a further 12 months to support its recovery and trade opportunities. An additional AU$10 million ($6.7 million) was also to be allocated for the United Nations-led Ukraine Humanitarian Fund. The Bulgarian government also approved a new military aid package to Ukraine.
2023
June 25
Ukrainian forces claimed to have retaken the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast, as well as territories around Krasnohorivka near the city of Donetsk that had been held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Ukraine also claimed to have thwarted an attempt by Russian saboteurs to enter Sumy Oblast.
Shelling and air strikes by Russian forces were reported in Kherson, Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts.
Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia Oblast said Russian troops killed two “two pro-Ukrainian terrorists” following overnight gunfire in Berdiansk. The Office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman later identified the dead as two teenagers who had been persecuted by the Russians on suspicions of plotting sabotage.
In Russia, Wagner forces started their withdrawal from Voronezh.
Germany announced it would supply Ukraine with 45 more Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns by the end of the year, with 15 of them expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
2023
June 24
Wagner rebellion
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed in an audio message that he had "25,000" fighters at his disposal, including soldiers who defected from the Russian army. Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov opened a criminal case against Prigozhin for "armed rebellion". The M4 highway between Lipetsk Oblast and Voronezh Oblasts was closed after the governor of Lipetsk, Igor Artamonov, claimed that a convoy of military vehicles had used the highway earlier. Prigozhin appeared to have seized the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don. Wagner also claimed control of military installations in Voronezh, where a fuel depot caught fire following alleged sightings of a military helicopter. Clashes between Wagner and the Russian military were reported in the region. Later in the day, they reached Lipetsk Oblast, with some analysts pinpointing sightings near Yelets, 390 kilometres (240 miles) south of Moscow.
In Moscow, according to TASS, security was increased at key facilities. The Institute for the Study of War considered Prigozhin efforts as "unlikely to succeed" due to a lack of support from General Sergey Surovikin, the former overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, who called Putin "the popularly elected President of the Russian Federation".
In his first comments on the mutiny, President Vladimir Putin said "those who carry deliberately on a path of treason, preparing an armed rebellion when you were preparing terrorist attacks, will be punished," but did not directly mention Prigozhin.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov offered his forces to help "preserve Russia's units and defend its statehood", calling Prigozhin's actions "a knife in the back".
The FSB raided the headquarters of PMC Wagner in Saint Petersburg and reportedly seized cardboard boxes containing 4 billion rubles ($47 million) from vehicles near the office. Prigozhin said that the money was meant to pay employee salaries and other company expenses.
Later in the day, Prigozhin announced that his forces would stop their march on Moscow and withdraw to military camps following talks with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, by which time Prigozhin claimed to have been just 200 kilometers (120 miles) away from Moscow. In exchange, Prigozhin was to be allowed to go into exile in Belarus and all charges against him and his followers were to be dropped. At around 11:00 p.m. (GMT+3), the Wagner Group began withdrawing their forces from Rostov-on-Don.
2023
June 24
Ukraine
Russia launched another wave of air attacks across cities in Ukraine. Five people were killed and 11 wounded after a high-rise was struck in Kyiv's Solomianskyi District. Eight people were wounded in Dnipro. Attacks were also recorded in Kharkiv. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 50 missiles and five drones.
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
2023
June 23
Wagner rebellion
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin alleged that his soldiers' positions were shelled by the Russian Ministry of Defense, killing 2,000 of them. He promised to take revenge, announcing a mutiny against the Russian military leadership, insisting that it was a "march of justice" against the military leadership and asked for regular military units to stay out of his way or be destroyed, and for civilians to stay at home. The FSB issued a warrant for his arrest and asked Wagner soldiers to not follow his orders, calling his actions an incitement towards “civil conflict”.
Prigozhin claimed that he had entered Rostov Oblast. Governor Vasily Golubev told citizens to stay indoors. Prigozhin claimed that Wagner forces shot down a Russian helicopter.
2023
June 23
Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had destroyed 13 Russian missiles and one drone that targeted an air base in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Two people were killed and four others were injured after Russian shelling struck a transport company building in Kherson.
The Turkish drone company Baykar issued licenses to manufacture drones in Ukraine, with production of Bayraktar and Akınc combat drones expected to commence in 2025. Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin later confirmed that construction of Baykar's manufacturing facility in Ukraine had already begun.
The head of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed in an interview to the New Statesman that Russia had approved of a plan to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and blame it on Ukraine, adding that explosives had been placed across the facility. However, inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) failed to find any evidence for this.
2023
June 22
The Russian-installed governor of Kherson Oblast, Vladimir Saldo, claimed that a Ukrainian missile struck the Chonhar bridge linking Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland, saying that a Storm Shadow missile was likely used. No casualties were reported but traffic was rerouted. Explosions were also reported in Dzhankoi.
Russia launched another wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, with attacks reported in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. One person was killed in a separate attack in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, while 13 others were injured in attacks across 10 oblasts.
The SBU arrested a resident of Mykolaiv suspected of providing the Russian military intelligence agency GRU with information on the location and movement of Ukrainian military vehicles and directing Russian fire upon a shipyard that injured six people and damaged several houses.
In Russia, a drone attack was reported in Kursk, while in Belarus, an Mi-24 helicopter reportedly belonging to the Russian Air Force crash-landed in Brest Region.
President Zelenskyy signed a law banning the import and distribution of books from Russia and Belarus. He also claimed that Russia was planning a "terrorist attack" on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant involving the leakage of radiation, citing intelligence reports.
The EU announced the transfer of 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine in macro-financial assistance.
The United Nations placed Russia on its “list of shame” over the killing and injuring of children in its invasion of Ukraine adding that 477 children had been killed in Ukraine over the past year, mostly in air attacks. 136 deaths were directly attributed to Russian forces and allied groups, while 80 were blamed on Ukrainian forces and the rest could not be determined.
2023
June 21
Four people were injured in a suspected missile attack by Russian forces in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter.
The European Union announced its 11th round of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, imposing restrictions on the sale of sensitive dual-use goods and technology to third countries that might sell it on to Russia and banning the entry of 71 persons and 33 entities to the EU for their involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announced that it was completing the transfer of his country's military helicopter fleet to Ukraine.
2023
June 20
Russia launched another wave of overnight airstrikes across Ukraine, with attacks being reported in Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv. The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 28 out of 30 Shahed drones over Kyiv and three more in Mykolaiv. Two people were killed in separate attacks in Kherson and Sumy Oblast.
Russian-installed officials claimed that one person was killed and four others injured by a Ukrainian drone strike in Nova Kakhovka.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed or damaged 46 units of Russian military equipment and inflicted the loss of five Russian army companies in the southern front.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said 30,000 soldiers were to be trained in EU countries under the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM).
The Russian State Duma approved legislation that would give pardons to convicted criminals who would fight in Ukraine, promising the expungement of criminal records of those who complete military service, suffer combat-related injuries or reach the mandatory retirement age of 65. Suspects who agreed to fight in Ukraine were also to be given reprieves. However, the law barred people convicted of terrorist, sexual, espionage and treasonous offenses from availing.
Ukraine's arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom claimed to have built a drone with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.
2023
June 19
In Russia, the governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed that seven people were injured by bombing in Valuyki.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry announced that its forces had retaken a total of 113 square kilometres (44 square miles) since the start of its counteroffensive and advanced up to 7 kilometers in the direction of Melitopol. It also estimated Russian losses at 4,600 personnel killed or wounded and 400 pieces of hardware destroyed. Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had repelled 263 Ukrainian attacks since 4 June.
The Danish Defence Ministry announced another package of military aid for Ukraine worth around $3.2 billion to be delivered from 2023 to 2028, which would include weapons, military equipment, emergency equipment, and training support.
2023
June 18
Ukrainian forces claimed to have destroyed a “significant” ammunition dump near Henichesk, Kherson Oblast. A Russian-installed official in Zaporizhzhia Oblast confirmed the recovery of the village of Piatykhatky by Ukrainian forces.
Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast, while another was killed in Tonenke, Donetsk Oblast.
2023
June 17
Four people were killed after a Russian missile struck a car near Huriv Kozachok in Kharkiv Oblast. One person was killed and three others wounded in a Russian airstrike in Kozatske, Kherson Oblast.
In Russia, three drones were shot down in an attack on the Druzhba oil refinery in Bryansk Oblast.
President Putin confirmed the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, claiming that this was "an element of deterrence" directed at those in the West who sought a "strategic defeat" for Russia.
2023
June 16
Another Russian air attack was launched on Kyiv while a delegation composed of five African leaders was visiting the Ukrainian capital as part of a peace mission between the warring sides. The delegation, which included South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Comoran President and concurrent African Union chair Azali Assoumani and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, were safely secured into a bomb shelter. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down six Kalibr cruise missiles, six Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles and two reconnaissance drones. Four people were wounded in the attack, while 23 others were also injured in a separate attack in Kherson.
Germany announced it was sending 64 Patriot missiles to Ukraine to bolster its air defenses.
2023
June 15
One person was injured in Kryvyi Rih as Russian missiles and drones were launched overnight across Ukraine. The Ukrainian military claimed to have intercepted 20 drones and one missile. An elderly woman was killed by Russian shelling in Zelenivka, Kherson Oblast.
Nine drones were reported to have attacked Russian-occupied Crimea.
On the southern front, Ukrainian forces claimed to have advanced by up to 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) along the Mokry Yali river, as well as up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) near Mala Tokmachka.
In Russia, a war crimes trial against 22 members of the Azov Brigade captured during the Siege of Mariupol started in Rostov. Fighters from the Chechen Zapad-Akhmat battalion were deployed to Belgorod Oblast to deter cross-border attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have struck drone production facilities in Ukraine using high-precision, long-range weapons and intercepted five US-built HIMARS-launched missiles and shot down 25 drones.
Russia announced plans to hold local elections scheduled on 10 September in occupied regions of Ukraine that it illegally annexed after the 2022 invasion.
2023
June 14
Four people were killed and 13 others were injured after a Russian missile attack on Odesa. The Ukrainian military said four Kalibr cruise missiles were launched at the city and said it had shot down three. The dead were retail employees who died after a missile struck a warehouse, causing a fire. Missile debris also damaged a business center, an educational institution, a residential complex, and shops in the city center. Four people were also killed in Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast. Two people were killed by Russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv Oblasts respectively
Pro-Russian officials claimed one person was injured by Ukrainian shelling in Nova Kakhovka. Ukrainian forces claimed to have retaken at least 90 square kilometres (35 square miles) of territory since starting their counteroffensive and advanced by some 200–500 metres towards Bakhmut, and 300–500 metres in the Zaporizhzhia front.
Adam Delimkhanov, commander of the Chechen contingent of the Russian National Guard and member of the Russian State Duma, was reportedly wounded in action in Ukraine according to Russian sources, while Ukrainian sources reported that he had been killed by an artillery strike in Prymorsk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
2023
June 13
A Russian airstrike hit a five-story residential building in Kryvyi Rih, killing 12 people and wounding 36. Attacks were also reported in Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Ukrainian military command said that they shot down ten out of fourteen cruise missiles and one of four "Iranian made drones". An elderly priest was killed by Russian shelling in Bilozerka, Kherson Oblast. Seven people were killed by Russian shelling across Sumy Oblast. Six of them, which included four forestry workers, were inside a van that was shelled near Seredyna-Buda, close to the international border.
In a meeting with military journalists and bloggers, President Putin claimed Ukraine had lost 160 tanks and more than 360 other armoured vehicles since the start of its counteroffensive, while Russia lost 54 tanks. He further acknowledged that there were shortages of precision-guided munitions, communications equipment, aircraft, drones and other military equipment.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said his country had received the first delivery of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia and threatened to use them if necessary, contradicting statements from Vladimir Putin that the delivery would take place in July and would only be at the disposal of Russia.
2023
June 12
Ukraine announced it had retaken seven villages in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts, including the settlements of Lobkove, Levadne, Novodarivka and Storozheve. It also accused Russia of blowing up a dam near Novodarivka that resulted in flooding along the Mokri Yaly river.
Three people were killed after Russian forces opened fire on a flood evacuation boat in Kherson Oblast. One person was killed by Russian bombing in Orikhiv, while another was killed in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast. Two people were injured in a Russian attack in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast.
Major-General Sergei Goryachev, chief of staff of the Russian 35th Combined Arms Army, was reported to have been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in the Zaporizhzhia front.
The Russian defence ministry signed a contract with Chechen Akhmat special forces fighting in Marinka, Donetsk Oblast as part of its moves towards consolidating control over allied paramilitary forces.
The United States announced a new aid package that would include "roughly two dozen Bradleys and Strykers" to replace those damaged or destroyed in previous fighting. The US had donated some 90 Strykers and 109 Bradleys to Ukraine. Some 16 Bradleys had been lost during the 2023 counteroffensive. The package also included more ammunition for HIMARS and NASAMS systems.
2023
June 11
Ukraine announced the liberation of the villages of Blahodatne, Makarivka and Neskuchne in Donetsk Oblast, the first settlements it had taken since the start of the counteroffensive. The Russian defence ministry claimed Ukrainian speedboats tried to attack the reconnaissance vessel Priazovye in the Black Sea.
A prisoner swap occurred between Russian and Ukrainian POWs, with 94 Russians swapped for 95 Ukrainians.
In Russia, a suspected Ukrainian drone crashed near the village of Strelkovka in Kaluga Oblast.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered all volunteer fighting groups to sign a contract with the ministry, calling it a step towards increasing the effectiveness of Russian forces in Ukraine. However, the Wagner Group's head Yevgeny Prigozhin insisted that they were not covered by the order. Russian media reported it was an attempt by Shoigu to rein in Wagner following Prigozhin's previous outbursts against the military establishment.
2023
June 10
During a nighttime attack on Odesa, Russian forces fired two missiles and eight drones. Ukrainian officials reported that all had been shot down. Falling drone debris set fire to an apartment building killing three people. Another 27, including three children, were wounded. An airfield in Poltava Oblast was damaged by missiles. One person was killed in an attack in Kharkiv Oblast. Two people, including a nurse were killed by Russian shelling at a hospital in Huliapole, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Ukrainian military claimed to have advanced 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) near Bakhmut over the past 24 hours.
During a surprise visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the start of the country's counteroffensive against Russia. Trudeau also announced 500 million Canadian dollars (£297 million) in new military aid for Ukraine.
Radio New Zealand launched an external investigation after discovering that some 15 stories about the war in Ukraine "were edited to align with the Russian view of events" to give a "false account" of the conflict. The station's executive later apologized, admitting that RNZ's editorial systems had been insufficiently robust, while a digital journalist was placed on leave.
In Russia, a freight train with fifteen cars was derailed in Belgorod Oblast. No casualties were reported.
2023
June 9
One person was killed and three others injured in a Russian air strike in Zviahel, Zhytomyr Oblast. Eight people were wounded in another attack in Uman. The Ukrainian military said they shot down four out of six missiles launched during the attacks.
According to OSINT Defender, an Open Source Intelligence website, the Ukrainian counteroffensive started towards the town of Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia Oblast with a mixture of Leopard tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. A Russian military spokesman claimed its forces had destroyed 13 tanks in Zaporizhzhia and eight in Donetsk.
The Security Service of Ukraine posted an intercepted call on its Telegram channel that claimed to show Russia's responsibility for the Kakhovka Dam's destruction. The call, which news agency Reuters could not immediately verify, was between two Russian-speaking men, with one of whom, described by the Ukraine security service as a Russian soldier, saying that the action at the dam was by a sabotage group under Russian command, and was supposed to "scare" people but "[the group did] more than what they planned for."
In Russia, three people were wounded by a drone strike on a residential building in Voronezh. A state of emergency was later declared in the region.
President Vladimir Putin said Russia would begin deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after the staging facilities are ready on 7–8 July. He also said during an interview published on Telegram that the Ukrainian offensive had begun.
Belgium announced it would supply Ukraine with 105mm artillery rounds worth 32.4 million euros ($35 million), which would be purchased from Belgian industry and delivered as soon as possible.
2023
June 8
Several newspapers and analysts reported that Ukraine's counteroffensive had begun, with the Institute for the Study of War noting that activity throughout Ukraine was consistent with a variety of indicators that counteroffensive operations were underway across the theater.
In the early hours of the counteroffensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered "significant losses" according to US officials and the Russian Ministry of Defence, but seemingly managed to break some lines of defence in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to US officials, the losses were not expected to impact Ukraine's counteroffensive as a whole. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled an offensive by Ukrainian forces involving 1,500 soldiers and 150 armoured vehicles after a two-hour battle with Ukrainian troops in the early hours. In response, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said only that Russia was conducting "defensive actions" near Orikhiv.
Three people, including a child were reported to have been killed by Russian shelling in Ukrainsk, Donetsk Oblast. One person was killed and eight others were wounded after Russian shelling struck a flood evacuation point in Kherson.
In Russia, drones struck two settlements in Belgorod Oblast.
The Russian Orthodox Church transferred 11 Ukrainian POWs from Zakarpattia Oblast to Hungary, saying that it was a request by the Hungarian government. But despite assurances by the office of Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the prisoners arrived of their own volition and were free to leave the country, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the Hungarians ignored their requests to contact them, adding that the transfer was conducted without the agreement of the Ukrainian government. On 20 June, three of the POWs were returned to Ukraine.
The United Kingdom imposed new sanctions on Belarus for its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which included banning imports of gold, cement, wood and rubber from Belarus and blocking exports to Belarus of banknotes and machinery, as well as materials that could be used to produce chemical and biological weapons.
As part of NATO's efforts to secure its border with Ukraine, Germany announced it would donate two MANTIS Air Defence Systems to Slovakia.
2023
June 7
Two people were reported to have been killed in a Russian drone strike on a house in Sumy Oblast.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry announced its forces had advanced from 200 to 1,100 metres around Bakhmut.
In Russia, there was continued shelling of Belgorod Oblast, including in Shebekino district.
Russia announced the arrest of a resident of Primorsky Krai for gathering information about law enforcement facilities and military infrastructure for Ukraine.
2023
June 6
Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
Ukraine said Russian forces had blown up the Kakhovka Dam along the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, releasing a large amount of water, while the Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka blamed the destruction on Ukrainian shelling but said only the upper part of the structure was damaged. An assessment by Ukraine's state hydropower agency, Ukrhydroenergo, determined that the dam was "totally destroyed" after a blast from inside the engine room and could not be restored, while Ukrainian officials claimed Russia destroyed the dam "in a panic" to slow down its upcoming offensive.
The Ukrainian government issued an evacuation order for ten villages downstream from the dam as well as parts of Kherson city. The governor of Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, told Ukrainian TV that eight villages had been flooded, and that evacuations by bus and train were ongoing for 16,000 residents in affected areas. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry later said 24 villages had been flooded, while President Zelenskyy said up to 80 villages were at risk of flooding. Around 40,000 people were in need of evacuation - 17,000 people in the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnipro and 25,000 on the Russian-controlled left bank, with Ukraine saying it had evacuated 1,000 people. 150 tonnes of engine oil were reported to have spilled into the Dnipro after the collapse. One person was killed and two Ukrainian policemen were wounded by Russian shelling in the area.
In Nova Kakhovka, 900 people were evacuated, 600 houses were reported to have been flooded and a state of emergency was declared by Russian authorities as water levels rose to over 11 meters (36 feet). The city's Kazkova Dibrova zoo lost all its 300 animals in the floods, while the town of Oleshky was reported to have been heavily flooded. Seven people were reported missing in Nova Kakhovka, while about 100 residents were reported to have been trapped. Thousands of animals were reported to have been killed in the Nizhnedniprovsky National Nature Park. At least eight people were reported to have died due to the resulting floods, while about 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) of the region was underwater, 68 percent of which was on the Russian-controlled side. Over the following days, the death toll rose to a total of 58.
2023
June 6
Other events
20 Russian missiles were reportedly shot down over Kyiv during an early morning attack. The governor of Kharkiv Oblast said that Russian forces repeatedly fired at an ammonia pipeline owned by TogliattiAzot which runs from Tolyatti in Russia to the Ukrainian port of Odesa, in a section located south of Masiutivka, causing an ammonia leak The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that it was caused by "Ukrainian saboteurs".
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that 71 Russian soldiers had been killed following attacks by Ukrainian forces along the frontlines in recent days, adding that 15 Russian tanks and nine armoured vehicles were also damaged by Ukrainian troops.
In Russia, the border district of Shebekino in Belgorod Oblast came under renewed Ukrainian shelling.
Australia was considering whether to provide Ukraine with 41 retired F/A-18 Hornets from the Royal Australian Air Force, with discussions ongoing between the Australian and United States governments according to the Australian Financial Review.
According to the Washington Post, European intelligence informed back in June 2022 the CIA and President Biden that Ukraine had a plan to attack the Nord Stream 2 pipeline using six divers who answered directly to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commanding General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
2023
June 5
Ukrainian forces were reported to be advancing towards Bakhmut, with the Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin confirming that Ukrainian soldiers had retaken part of the settlement of Berkhivka, north of the city. Hanna Malyar, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister said that 'offensive actions' were underway in "some areas" in eastern Ukraine, adding that Ukrainian troops gained from 200 to 1,600 meters (656-5,250 feet) in Orikhovo-Vasulivka and Paraskoviivka, while in Ivanivske and Klishchiivka they advanced between 100 and 700 meters (330-2,300 feet). The Russian defense ministry said it was holding back attacks by Ukrainian forces near the settlements of Novodonetske and Oktyabrske.
The Ukrainian government accused Russia of violating the terms of the Black Sea Grain Initiative by registering two vessels that declared their participation in the deal the same day, adding it went against accepted vessel inspection rules that required priority inspection and registration of longer-standing ships.
The Wagner Group said it had detained a regular Russian military officer who opened fire on one of their vehicles near Bakhmut. The officer was said to have disliked the group and attacked the vehicle while intoxicated. The officer was later identified as Lt. Col. Roman Venevitin, who was later released and subsequently accused the group of stoking "anarchy" on Russia's frontlines by stealing arms, forcing mobilized soldiers to sign contracts with the group and attempting to extort weapons from the defence ministry.
In Russia, an energy facility in Belgorod Oblast was reportedly set on fire by a drone attack, while two drones crashed into a road in Kaluga Oblast but did not explode. A radio address purportedly made by President Putin was broadcast in Rostov, Belgorod and Voronezh Oblasts, all of which border Ukraine, which claimed the Ukrainian army had entered Russia, adding that martial law had been declared and a nationwide military mobilization had begun while telling residents to evacuate into the interior. The message was broadcast by radio stations in those regions before the Kremlin said it was a hoax caused by a hacking.
Belgian officials launched an investigation into the possible use of Belgian-made weapons by pro-Ukrainian Russian partisans in Belgorod, some of whom were seen using FN SCAR assault rifles. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Belgian ambassador in protest over the issue.
The EU extended restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products imposed by Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia seeking to protect their farmers to 15 September. It also sanctioned nine Russian officials, including a deputy justice minister, judges and a prison official, over the persecution and jailing of Kremlin critic and antiwar activist Vladimir Kara-Murza.
2023
June 4
During the early hours of the morning Ukrainian officials reported that air defence systems had repelled a missile attack on Kyiv. However, two missiles struck an airfield near Kropyvnytskyi. Two drones were reported to have struck infrastructure in Sumy Oblast. Explosions were also reported in Sumy and in the occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk.
Russia claimed to have fought off a "large-scale offensive" by Ukraine in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, killing 250 soldiers and destroying 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles.
The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion claimed to have captured Russian soldiers after launching another incursion into Belgorod Oblast. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, acknowledged their claims and promised to meet them to swap the soldiers. However the groups claimed that he failed to show up, forcing them to hand over their captives to Ukraine. A video was released on Telegram by the RVC showed some ten to twelve Russian soldiers, and two others in a hospital bed.
2023
June 3
A missile strike on Dnipro killed a two-year-old girl and wounded 22 people after it hit a two-story building. Five of them were reportedly children, seventeen people were hospitalized and several were believed to have been trapped under the rubble.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that two people were killed by Ukrainian shelling.
2023
June 2
Ukrainian officials said that during the morning two waves of air attacks were aimed at Kyiv. The Ukrainian military said they shot down 15 Russian cruise missiles and 21 drones in and around the capital overnight, with two people injured by falling debris. Five private homes were also damage according to Ukrainian officials. Another missile attack later was reported later in the day, with the Ukrainian military saying that they had intercepted all 15 cruise missiles and 18 drones launched by Russian forces and about 30 other "hostile objects". Two people were killed and four others were injured by Russian bombing in Kivsharivka, Kharkiv Oblast, while the same numbers were reported in a Russian attack on a village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Officials of the Russian-installed Donetsk People's Republic said that three people were reportedly killed and four others wounded by Ukrainian shelling in Makiivka. Officials in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast claimed that Ukrainian artillery struck a hospital camp and wounded nine people in a separate incident in Berdiansk. A Russian sympathizer and mayoral candidate in Russian-organized local elections was killed by a car bomb in Mykhailivka.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced the deployment of Chechen "Akhmat" special forces to the frontlines in Mariinka, Donetsk Oblast for an offensive. Yevgeny Prigozhin said that 99% of his Wagner fighters had pulled out from Bakhmut ahead of its formal turnover to the Russian military on 5 June. He also accused the Russian military of laying mines targeting his personnel as they retreated.
The governor of Russia's Bryansk Oblast claimed that Ukrainian forces shelled a village along the international border, destroying a house. Two people were reportedly killed and two others injured when Ukrainian forces shelled a road in Maslova Pristan, Belgorod Oblast, while the Freedom of Russia Legion claimed responsibility for an attack on the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka and claimed that Russian government forces had killed two civilians after mistaking their vehicle for that of the legion. Long-range drones hit two towns in Smolensk Oblast, while an explosion was reported in a forest in Kaluga Oblast. Officials claimed that buildings were damaged in Bryansk and Kursk by Ukrainian shelling and a nighttime drone attack.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko said Russia sowed winter crops for the year's harvest in the territories it annexed during the invasion, providing state support worth 3 billion rubles ($37.1 million) to farmers in the occupied regions and harvesting grain, beans and rapeseed on 1.3 million hectares.
The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley announced that Ukrainian soldiers had begun training in the use of M1 Abrams tanks pledged to Ukraine by the West.
The United States approached Japan for supplies of TNT to be used in 155 mm caliber shells for Ukraine. According to Reuters, the Japanese government allowed the US government to purchase industrial TNT as it is not a military product.
2023
June 1
Three people, including a mother and her child, were killed in a Russian air attack on Kyiv in the early hours of the day. The victims were from the Desnianskyi District. Reports said that the casualties were trying to access a locked bomb shelter when the attack occurred. Four people were detained in connection to the incident, namely a security guard, the director of a medical facility, his deputy and the first deputy of the district administration. A subsequent audit of Kyiv's bomb shelters found that nearly half of them were unfit for use or closed. Damage was also reported in the Dniprovskyi District. Ten Iskander missiles were intercepted according to the Ukrainian military.
In Russia's Belgorod Oblast, eight people were reported to have been injured by Ukrainian shelling in Shebekino. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed that Ukrainian forces used Grad rockets. Two others were injured in a drone attack in Belgorod city. The Russian defence ministry claimed it had repulsed three Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod, killed more than 50 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed four armored vehicles. It said the attacks involved up to 70 "militants", five tanks, four armoured vehicles, seven pick-up trucks and a Kamaz truck.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said the Black Sea Grain Initiative had been halted again because Russia had blocked the registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports. The UN later confirmed that Russia was planning to limit registration of ships to the port of Pivdennyi until all parties agreed to unblock the transit of Russian ammonia.
The FSB said it had discovered an "intelligence action" that had compromised the phones of Russians as well as diplomats from Israel, Syria, China and NATO members and claimed that Apple had worked with US intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency in compromising numerous iPhones. Apple did not comment on whether its products in Russia had been hacked but denied working with authorities to compromise its devices.
The Pentagon said that it would buy Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service for Ukraine to ensure the continued effectivity of communications in the country.
The US State Department said it was revoking the visas of Russian nuclear inspectors, denying pending applications for new monitors and canceling standard clearances for Russian aircraft to enter US airspace in retaliation for Russia's suspension of its participation in the New START treaty. It also said it would no longer notify Russia of any updates on the status or location of "treaty-accountable items" like missiles and launchers.
The Swiss National Council voted down, 98–75, a parliamentary initiative put forward by a committee that would have specifically authorized the transfer of Swiss-made arms to Ukraine. Its opponents claimed the proposal was a violation of the country's longstanding policy of neutrality.
2023
May 31
One person was killed by Russian shelling in Vovchansk Raion in Kharkiv Oblast, while three people, including two children, were injured by Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast. One person was also killed by Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast. Officials in the Russian-installed Luhansk People's Republic said that five people were killed and 19 others were injured after Ukrainian artillery hit a poultry farm.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that Russian troops had blown up a road that links Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast with Russia's Bryansk Oblast, saying that the incident occurred at the tripoint between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine claimed that Russian-installed officials in occupied Luhansk were threatening to withhold the wages of workers who refused to open accounts at Russian banks.
The Russian defence ministry claimed its forces had pushed out Ukrainian forces from positions around Krasnohorivka and Yasynuvata in Donetsk Oblast.
A fire broke out at the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. Veniamin Kondratyev, Governor of the region, blamed the fire on a Ukrainian drone strike. The fire was put out with minimal damage and no casualties. Another drone was reported to have crashed into the Ilsky refinery. The governor of Belgorod Oblast announced the beginning of evacuations of children from areas affected by Ukrainian shelling, saying that 300 children would be taken to Voronezh, about 250 km (155 miles) away, while another 1,000 children would be evacuated to other regions over the coming days. He also said two border settlements were shelled by Ukraine, injuring four.
The Russian Interior Ministry placed two former Ukrainian defence ministers and a former commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to its wanted list.
The Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had asked prosecutors to investigate whether senior Russian defense officials had committed any "crime" before or during the war in Ukraine, without providing specific details.
Germany ordered the closure of four out of five Russian consulates in the country, in retaliation for the expulsion of German diplomatic staff from Russia and the closure of the German consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country received $1.25 billion from the United States as a part of the World Bank’s Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) project, saying that the funds would "be used to support the state budget, especially for social and humanitarian spending." The Pentagon announced an additional $300-million aid package to help bolster Ukrainian air defenses, particularly additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems.
2023
May 30
Kyiv was attacked by twenty Shahed drones according to Ukrainian officials. A high rise building was hit by debris starting a fire. One person was killed and four were wounded.
Moscow was attacked by at least eight drones, causing minor damage to several buildings according to the Russian ministry of defence. Three lost control due to electronic warfare and the other five were shot down by a Pantsir-S system. The Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin said that "two people had sought medical assistance". Russia accused Ukraine of responsibility, which a Ukrainian official denied but said that the country was "pleased" over the attack. One person was killed and two others were injured after purported Ukrainian shelling of a centre for displaced people in Belgorod Oblast.
The Russian Interior Ministry placed General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, on its wanted list.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said about 1.5 million people living in the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia in 2022 had received Russian passports, adding that about 1.6 million people residents were receiving pensions, and about 1.5 million were receiving social benefits.
South Africa's leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, launched a court application to ensure the South African government detained Vladimir Putin and hand him over to the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine should he "set foot in South Africa." The move followed speculation on whether he would attend the BRICS summit to be held in the country in August, to which the government had granted prior diplomatic immunity to all attendees.
2023
May 29
Russia launched its 15th air attack of the month and its second consecutive attack in Kyiv in the early morning hours. Damage was reported in the Podilskyi District, with a "one-storey private residence" being struck by falling debris. Debris was reported to have struck buildings in the Sviatoshyn and Holosiivskyi districts as well. The attack involved drones and cruise missiles. The Kyiv City Military Administration claimed to have shot down forty targets.
Shortly afterwards during daytime, Russia launched its 16th attack on Kyiv for the month. The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 37 cruise missiles and 29 drones, along with 11 Iskander missiles. One person was injured. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said that ballistic missiles, including either S-300 or S-400 missiles were used. An air base in Khmelnytskyi was also struck. Five aircraft were reported to have been disabled while the runway was reported to have been damaged. Russian artillery and helicopters also launched attacks on settlements in Sumy Oblast throughout the day. The Russian defence ministry later said it struck air bases during those attacks.
In Donetsk Oblast, two civilians were killed by Russian shelling in Toretsk, while eight others were injured. Another person was killed by Russian shelling in Kozatske, Kherson Oblast. One person was killed and nine others injured by shelling in Synelnykove Raion in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while seven people were injured by shelling in Kupiansk Raion, in Kharkiv Oblast.
The Russian defence ministry claimed to have destroyed the Ukrainian Navy's "last operating" warship, the Yuri Olefirenko, in a missile strike in Odesa. Officials from the Ukrainian Navy declined to comment on the allegation.
In Russia's Belgorod Oblast, four people were reported to have been injured by Ukrainian shelling in border settlements.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian military's Operational Command East, which encompasses the Donbas, told Ukrainian television that Wagner mercenaries in Bakhmut were being replaced by the regular Russian military. He added that there were three clashes around the city in the past 24 hours. The Russians shelled Ukrainian positions 373 times and launched six air strikes. In response, Ukrainian forces killed 155 Russian soldiers and wounded 116.
President Putin signed a law authorizing elections to occur later in the year in Ukrainian territories that it annexed during its invasion, despite the prevailing declaration of martial law in those areas.
The Russian Interior Ministry placed US Senator Lindsey Graham on a wanted list following his remarks on 26 May to President Zelenskyy that appeared to show him praising the deaths of Russians during the conflict and continued US support to Ukraine. The Ukrainian presidency later released a full video of the interaction, showing that the comments were not linked. Senator Graham later clarified that he was praising Ukrainian resistance against Russia before saying that the arrest warrant was a "badge of honor" and challenged Russian authorities to try him in the International Criminal Court.
The Verkhovna Rada imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran for supplying drones to Russia. The new regulations included a ban on exports of "military and dual-use goods" to the country and the "suspension of economic and financial obligations in favour" of its residents. The transit of Iranian goods and aircraft through Ukraine was also to be halted.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that Ukraine intensified attacks against Russian supply lines and that preparations for the major counter-attack were being finalized in different sectors of the front. He proposed that a demilitarised zone of 100-120 kilometers (62–75 miles) from the border with Ukraine should be established inside Russia as part of a post-war settlement.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that her government was to increase its military aid to Ukraine by $2.6 billion during 2023 and 2024.
2023
May 28
The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, claimed that Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital. Two people were killed by falling drone debris, while a woman was injured. Two high-rise apartments were set on fire. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed that 58 out of 59 drones had been shot down, with more than 40 of them intercepted over Kyiv. Fires were reported in the Solomyanskyi, Holosiivskyi and Pecherskyi Districts. The attack came on the anniversary of Kyiv's founding in 482 AD. It was later described as Russia's largest drone attack on Kyiv since the war began.
Air raid alerts were activated in 12 oblasts, from Volyn in the north-west to Dnipropetrovsk in the south-east. There were also reports of explosions in Zhytomyr, where at least 26 residential buildings were damaged as well as schools and medical units. Shelling was also reported in Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia, and in Nikopol, across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Russia said its air defences shot down several drones approaching the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai.
The Ukrainian General Staff claimed that 80 Russian soldiers deserted their positions in Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast, while 30 others deserted from Bakhmut. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported that all the preparations for the anticipated major counter-attack are complete and that they were only waiting for the decision to strike.
2023
May 27
A spokeswoman for the German Defence Ministry confirmed that Ukraine had formally asked to be supplied with the Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a woman was killed and another civilian was injured by Russian shelling in Kupiansk.
Mikhail Vedernikov, Governor of Russia's Pskov Oblast, claimed that two drones struck an administrative building for a nearby oil pipeline, causing an explosion. No casualties were reported, however the building was damaged. The attack occurred less than ten kilometres from the Belarus border. In Kursk Oblast, a construction worker was reported to have been killed by Ukrainian shelling near the village of Plekhovo, a few kilometers from the international border. Another civilian, a security guard was killed by shelling in Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that its forces had intercepted two Storm Shadow missiles, 19 drones and several HIMARS and HARM missiles from Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that hundreds of its educational and cultural workers, including employees at the German school in Moscow and at the local branch of the Goethe Institute were to be expelled from Russia starting in June after it imposed a limit on the number of German employees in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats and staff from Germany.
In an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Komarov, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU, confirmed the agency's involvement in the Crimean Bridge explosion in 2022, saying that it was being used as a logistics route by Russia.
2023
May 26
Ukrainian authorities said they shot down 17 missiles and 31 drones launched from Russia overnight. Strikes were reported in Dnipro and Kharkiv, including an oil depot. In Kyiv, fragments of intercepted drones fell on the roof of a shopping centre, while a house and several cars were damaged. A Russian S-300 missile hit a dam in Karlivka, Donetsk Oblast, placing nearby settlements under threat of severe flooding from the Karlivske Reservoir. Two people were killed and 23 injured in a missile strike at a clinic in Dnipro. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed it had struck ammunition depots in those attacks and said all targets had been hit.
In Russia, a blast alleged to have been caused by two Ukrainian drones damaged a residential and office building in Krasnodar. Four districts in Belgorod Oblast were shelled from the Ukrainian border, while a Ukrainian missile was reportedly shot down over Morozovsk, in Rostov Oblast.
The United States announced sanctions against Ivan Maslov, head of the Wagner Group's operations in Mali, saying that the group was procuring weaponry across Africa to use in the war in Ukraine. The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced additional sanctions on Russia, saying that it would freeze the assets of 78 groups and 17 individuals, including army officers and ban exports to 80 entities such as military-affiliated research labs. It also said it would ban providing construction and engineering services to Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned senior US diplomats after comments on 21 May by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan appeared to support Ukrainian attacks on Russian-annexed Crimea using Western weaponry.
The German Defence Ministry said it was moving its Patriot missile battery deployed in Slovakia to Lithuania to secure the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius in July.
The Prosecutor-General of Ukraine released figures showing that at least 483 children had been killed during the conflict and nearly 1,000 others were wounded, with the National Social Service of Ukraine saying that nearly 1,500 children had been orphaned. Most of these casualties came from Donetsk Oblast, with 462 recorded individuals. 278 casualties were recorded in Kharkiv Oblast, 128 in Kyiv Oblast, 102 in Kherson Oblast, 91 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 89 in Mykolaiv Oblast, 72 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 70 in Chernihiv Oblast and 67 in Luhansk Oblast. UNICEF also said an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian children were at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.
The intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry warned of a plot by Russia to stage an incident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to stall Ukraine's anticipated counteroffensive.
Canada's Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that her country would supply the Ukrainian Air Force with 43 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles to help intercept Kh-101 and Shahed type Iranian made Drones. It is the first official acknowledged delivery of western air to air missiles.
2023
May 25
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that air defences had shot down some thirty six Shahed drones. In occupied Crimea, the regional governor said six Ukrainian drones were shot down. In an interview with Die Welt, Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, said the government intends to assassinate Putin "because he coordinates and decides what happens" in the war.
Yevgeny Prigozhin announced the start of the turnover of Bakhmut from his Wagner mercenaries to the Russian military and his forces' withdrawal from the city. He also said they would repatriate the bodies of an American national, whom he identified as a former special forces soldier named Nicholas Maimer, and a Turkish citizen, which they claimed to have recovered from the remains of a building blown up by Ukrainian forces, adding that the body of another Turkish national, a woman, was also found but could not be retrieved. 106 Ukrainian POWs captured in Bakhmut were repatriated to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange with Russia.
The FSB announced that it had arrested two members of a Ukrainian "sabotage group" and two Russian accomplices who were plotting to bomb power lines connected to the Leningrad and Kalinin Nuclear Power Plants, adding that 36.5 kilos of explosives and about 60 detonators were recovered from them.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had scrambled Su-27 and Su-35 fighter jets to intercept two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers near the country's airspace boundary over the Baltic Sea.
Russia and Belarus signed an agreement that formalized the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarusian territory, with control and usage over the weapons remaining in Russian hands. Shortly afterwards, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko confirmed that the transfer of weapons to the country had begun and later said countries joining the Union State would also be given nuclear weapons.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was expelling five Swedish diplomats from the country in retaliation for the expulsion of five Russian diplomats from Sweden in April 2023. It also summoned the German, Danish and Swedish ambassadors in protest over a "complete lack of results" in their investigations into the identity of the perpetrators of the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.
A Swedish appeals court upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of former security services and armed forces employee Peyman Kia for espionage on behalf of Russia.
Finland announced it was sending additional military equipment to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft weaponry and ammunition worth 109 million euros ($120 million).
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, during a visit to Vietnam, that he believed that the war with Ukraine could last a "very long time, most likely decades", with periods of truce and then conflict. Medvedev is currently the Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
2023
May 24
The governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast said that a drone dropped an explosive device on a road in Belgorod city, damaging a car but leaving no casualties.
During its annual assembly in Geneva, member states of the World Health Organization voted 80 votes to nine, with 52 abstentions, to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine, including attacks on health care facilities, civilians and critical civilian infrastructure. All 27 EU members co-sponsored the move, with the exception of Hungary, which was absent from the vote. Besides Russia, the countries that voted against the draft resolution included China, North Korea, Syria, Belarus, Cuba and Algeria.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the Ukrainian military launched an unsuccessful attack on the reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea using three unmanned speedboats. Video evidence the following day showed that one of the vessels had seemingly hit the Ivan Khurs.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine said it was switching to the new "Julian Calendar" from 1 September, in an effort to distance itself from the Russian Orthodox Church and citing Russian aggression. This was expected to lead to festivals like Christmas to be celebrated on 25 December instead of 7 January in Ukraine.
The Russian Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don said that five foreign nationals (Britons John Harding, Andrew Hill, and Dylan Heal, Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson, and Croatian national Vjekoslav Prebeg) were to be tried in absentia on 31 May for alleged terrorism and other charges. The men had been captured in 2022 during fighting in the Donbas and were released in a series of prisoner exchanges.
Latvia pledged 2 million euros ($2.15 million) to support the reconstruction of Chernihiv, according to its City Council. The funds were to be used in projects such as buying school equipment and restoring water and sewage systems.
The United States Defense Security Cooperation Agency has authorised the sale of a NASAMS system to Ukraine valued at $285 million.
2023
May 23
In its evening report, the Ukrainian military reported that there were 25 air strikes and 20 incidents of shelling reported across the country for the day, but no missile attacks.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, promised to transfer control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to the Russian army by 1 June. In an interview, he said that more than 20,000 of his fighters died in the battle for the city, and acknowledged that the Russian military had killed civilians.
President Zelenskyy visited naval infantry troops along the Vuhledar-Maryinka defence line in Donetsk Oblast as part of commemorations of the Day of the Ukrainian Marines. He announced that new marine brigades would be added to the Ukrainian military's existing units.
The governor of Donetsk Oblast said Russian aerial bombs struck Toretsk, damaging a school but causing no casualties.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said that it had forced back "nationalists" who had launched the cross-border attacks in Belgorod Oblast back into Ukraine, adding that its forces had killed more than 70 "Ukrainian terrorists" and destroyed four armored combat vehicles and five pickups. The Governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast said three villages bordering Ukraine were left without power after a drone dropped explosives on an electrical substation.
Ukraine accused Russia of blocking access to the port of Pivdennyi to grain exports despite the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said that the total amount of weaponry sent to Ukraine by the bloc since March 2023 had reached 220,000 artillery shells and 1,300 missiles.
The SBU launched a criminal investigation against Maj. Gen. Andrey Ruzinsky, commander of the Russian Baltic Fleet's 11th Army Corps for his role in the invasion and occupation of parts of Kharkiv Oblast and subsequent atrocities, particularly in Balakliia. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine also opened an investigation into the role of Belarus in the forced transfer of children from Russian-occupied territories, following a report by the exiled Belarusian opposition group National Anti-Crisis Management, alleging that 2,150 Ukrainian children, including orphans aged six to 15, were taken to at least three so-called recreation camps and sanatoriums on Belarusian territory.
Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that the government was ready to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft but it rejected supplying F-16s to Ukraine, fearing a "degrading effect" on the Polish Air Force.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had deployed an Su-27 fighter jet to intercept and prevent two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers from entering its airspace over the Baltic Sea. The Pentagon later confirmed the incident, saying that aircraft were taking part in a planned exercise and the Russian fighter's interaction with the planes was "safe and professional".
2023
May 22
At least eight people were injured and multiple buildings were damaged by a Russian air strike in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian officials also claimed that Russian forces fired some sixteen missiles, of different types, and twenty "Shahed-136/131 drones". Ukraine claimed to have shot down four cruise missiles and all of the drones. The governor of Kharkiv Oblast said two women were wounded by Russian shelling in Kupiansk. One person was killed by Russian shelling in Stanislav, Kherson Oblast.
The occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant went offline for several hours before being reconnected. Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom had accused Russia of carrying out attacks that caused a power cut, adding that it was the seventh time the plant entered "blackout mode" since Russian troops took control in March 2022.
The governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that Ukrainian shelling injured three people in the city of Grayvoron, which borders Ukraine, and damaged three residential buildings and an administration building. He also said that Ukrainian attacks had injured two people in the village of Glotovo in Grayvoronsky District and accused a Ukrainian "sabotage" group of crossing the border in carrying out an attack. Two civilians were reported to have been killed. Footage purportedly showing a Ukrainian tank attacking a Russian border post also appeared on a Telegram channel linked to Russian security services. However, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Kyiv had "nothing to do" with the attack and said Russian anti-Kremlin guerrilla groups were responsible. The Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) later claimed responsibility for the attack, with the Legion claiming to have taken the border town of Kozinka and reached Graivoron. Evacuations were ordered in nine villages and a counter-terrorist operation were ordered in the affected areas by the regional government, while the Russian military dispatched fighter jets and artillery to the scene. The Institute for the Study of War later assessed that two "all-Russian pro-Ukrainian" groups had crossed the border with tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other armoured vehicles. Attacks were also reported on offices of the Interior Ministry and the FSB in Belgorod city. Gladkov later said 13 civilians were injured, damage was recorded in 29 houses and three cars were damaged and electricity was lost in 14 settlements.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly issued a declaration recognizing Russian atrocities in Ukraine as "genocide" according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation Yehor Cherniev. He said that the declaration included support for an international tribunal for Russian war crimes, helping Ukraine win the war and a commitment to help restore the country's territories by implementing more sanctions.
2023
May 21
President Zelenskyy appeared to confirm the fall of Bakhmut to Russia, saying in an interview to AFP that "For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts" and that "nothing" was left of the city. However, he and his office later clarified that he had not said that the city had fallen. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces were holding on to a sector of the city while partly encircling Bakhmut itself.
A Russian-installed official in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast said that the Ukrainian military had attacked the port of Berdiansk with seven missiles, including four British-supplied Storm Shadows. He said six of the missiles had been intercepted and one had fallen on the edge of the city but had not caused any casualties. The Ukrainian military later confirmed that they had struck a Russian headquarters in the city.
President Biden confirmed a new military aid package worth $375 million for Ukraine, saying the United States would provide ammunition, artillery, armored vehicles and training. He also said that he received reassurances from President Zelenskyy that any F-16s supplied to Ukraine will not be used for incursions on internationally recognized Russian territory itself.
An administrative building in the village of Golovchino in Russia's Belgorod Oblast caught fire. Russian officials blamed the fire on a "quadcopter".
Japan announced the delivery of one hundred military vehicles and thirty thousand ration kits to Ukraine.
2023
May 20
Eighteen Russian Shahed drones were launched at Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian Air Force all eighteen were shot down. Falling debris set fire to the roof of a residential complex in the Dniprovskyi District. This was the eleventh attack on the capital during the month of May. The Ukrainian Air Force also claimed to have destroyed two drones in the country's "east" and one in the "south" without further details.
Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Telegram that his Wagner mercenaries had completely captured Bakhmut. This was denied by Ukraine, which nevertheless called the situation in the city "critical". The Russian Defence Ministry later confirmed the capture of the city, with President Putin sending his congratulations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G7 summit in Hiroshima for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Pyotr Kucherenko, deputy science and higher education minister of the Russian Federation, suddenly fell ill on a plane returning from a business trip to Cuba. The aircraft landed at Mineralnye Vody however doctors were unable to save the minister's life. Kucherenko had reportedly called the war in Ukraine a "fascist invasion" in private. Exiled journalist Roman Super spoke to him "days before" his death, where Kucherenko expressed fears for his safety. The minister also had a preexisting heart condition.
2023
May 19
The Ukrainian military said it had repelled another Russian air attack in the morning, destroying 19 drones and three Kalibr missiles out of a total of 28 launched. An elderly woman was seriously injured during airstrikes on Kryvyi Rih.
The Pentagon announced that it had made an accounting error in relation to the aid supplied to Ukraine. The error was made when the Pentagon overestimated to Congress, by at least $3 billion, the cost of weapons sent to Ukraine. This error meant that these funds were effectively a surplus that could be spent on more weapons for Ukraine. President Biden said he would support a joint effort with allies to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s fighter jets. Shortly afterwards, Denmark said it would provide direct help in training. No date was announced for such training to commence. Once it does it could take six to nine months to properly train Ukrainian pilots and crews to use the F-16. A US official told CNN that the United States was prepared to help train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. The training would take place in Europe in the "coming weeks", along with European allies, while a decision on the number of aircraft would be made at a later date.
During the 49th G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the government was introducing new sanctions against Russian exports, particularly on diamonds, nickel, copper and aluminum. He also said that the government would also target 86 more people and companies connected to President Putin, including people who were "actively undermining the impact of existing sanctions". Sunak said that the new sanctions were made to ensure Russia paid "a price for its illegal activity" and urged other G7 countries to follow suit. The United States also announced that it would tighten export controls to Russia, particularly with regards to militarily important goods, and impose nearly 300 new sanctions against targets linked to Russia. Canada also imposed sanctions on targets linked to the Russian military, relatives of listed persons, members of the Kremlin elite, and those involved in human rights violations.
In response to these sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced a ban on entry into the country on 500 Americans including former President Barack Obama, comedians Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers, Senators J. D. Vance, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt, former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., presumptive Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown Jr. and several journalists of CNN. Also included were officials involved in the prosecution of participants in the United States Capitol attack in 2021. It also continued to deny US consular access to detained journalist Evan Gershkovich in retaliation for the blocking of entry to Russian journalists during Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to the UN in New York in April 2023. In conjunction, the Russian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court's Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, who was responsible for issuing Putin's arrest warrant in March 2023, while the Prosecutor-General of Russia deemed the environmental organization Greenpeace an "undesirable organization", calling it "a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security" of the country for interfering in the "internal affairs of the state" and spreading "anti-Russian propaganda" and calling for economic sanctions. The order prompted Greenpeace to halt its operations in Russia.
Yevgeny Roizman, former mayor of Yekaterinburg and opposition politician, was convicted and fined 260,000 rubles ($3245) for discrediting the Russian army over comments made regarding the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine was losing some 10,000 drones a month due to Russian electronic warfare according to report by the Royal United Services Institute.
2023
May 18
Russian forces targeted Kyiv and the Odesa region according to Ukrainian authorities. Explosions were heard over Kyiv with one garage complex being set on fire by falling debris in the Darnytskyi District and another fire breaking out in Desnianskyi District. In Odesa, one person was reported killed and two wounded when an "industrial object" was struck. The missiles used were Kh-101s and Kh-55s, reportedly fired from strategic bombers. Airstrikes were also reported in Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi Oblasts. The Ukrainian Air Force, in a statement, claimed 29 of the 30 missiles were intercepted. This was the ninth air raid aimed at Kyiv this month. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have destroyed all its designated targets in the airstrikes, including weapons and ammunitions stocks.
A train between Simferopol and Sevastopol, on Crimea, was derailed by an explosion causing the suspension of rail traffic between the two cities.
Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin again complained, in a video message, of setbacks by the Russian military in Bakhmut, claiming that they had withdrawn up to 570 meters (1,880 feet) to the north of the city, exposing Wagner's flanks. He claimed that Wagner mercenaries had advanced up to 400 meters inside the city, while the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces had advanced 500 meters in the north of the city and up to one kilometer in the south side while retaining the southwestern part of Bakhmut.
Hussein Dzhambetov, a commanding officer from the pro-Ukrainian Chechen Separate Special Purpose Battalion defected to Russia.
The US government told CNN that it would not block any requests by their allies to transfer their own F-16s to Ukraine but would not send its own F-16s to Ukraine. The question of training such pilots remained unanswered, which would likely involve some US involvement.
French President Emmanuel Macron had announced earlier France would supply SCALP-EG missiles, which are similar to the Storm Shadow.
2023
May 17
The Security Service of Ukraine identified and charged six individuals with "illegally disseminating" information about Ukrainian air defences in Kyiv. These individuals took videos of Ukrainian air defences in action then posted them on social media sites such as YouTube. Such information, the SBU alleged, could be used to make Russian strikes more accurate. The penalty for such a charge was five to eight years imprisonment.
Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces had destroyed a British-made L-119 howitzer in Ukraine according to a report by state news agency TASS. It also claimed to have struck an ammunition depot in Mykolaiv.
The DSM Capella, the last ship to sail under the Black Sea Grain Initiative before its expected expiration on 18 May, left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk carrying 30,000 tonnes of corn bound for Turkey. Shortly afterwards, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the grain exportation deal between Ukraine and Russia had been extended for two more months. Both Russia and Ukraine welcomed the extension.
A child and two others were reported to have been killed and three people were injured after a Russian shell struck outside a shop in Zelenivka, Kherson Oblast. In Donetsk, the city's Russian-backed mayor claimed Ukrainian shelling left five dead and 15 injured.
A Moscow court ordered the arrests of film producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theatre director Ivan Vyrypaev for "spreading false information" about the Russian army, with Vyrypaev additionally being placed on the Russian federal wanted list by the Interior Ministry. Both individuals had been living in exile for their opposition to the war in Ukraine. Another court sentenced opposition figure and anti-war activist Mikhail Krieger to seven years in prison on charges of justifying terrorism and inciting hatred with the threat of violence prior to the invasion. Prior to his sentencing, Krieger said that he was being prosecuted for his "anti-war and now openly pro-Ukrainian position".
During a summit in Iceland, the Council of Europe approved a "Register of Damage" to document actions of Russian forces in Ukraine for future claims of compensation against Russia. The United States, which attended the summit as an observer, Canada and Japan also supported the register.
2023
May 16
Kyiv came under air attack in the early hours of the morning. Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv's Mayor, said that debris from intercepted missiles struck the city zoo in the Solomianskyi District and the Shevchenkivskyi District, as well as several cars, and wounded three people. According to Kyiv's military administrator, Serhiy Popko, the attack was "exceptional", as it involved "the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time." Ukraine stated all eighteen missiles were shot down, including six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles. The attacks came from the north, south and east while being launched from air, land and sea, according to Ukrainian military commander Valerii Zaluzhny. However, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed the Ukrainian claims, saying that they had launched a lesser amount of missiles. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed to have destroyed a US-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system with a Kinzhal missile. A US official later told CNN that a Patriot system was likely damaged but not destroyed during the attack, and that assessments for potential damage were ongoing. According to a US official the Patriot system could be repaired in Ukraine. Due to modular nature of the system it may just require the replacement of a damaged component with a new one.
Denis Pushilin, head of the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic, said that Russian forces had seized several Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that its forces had retaken about 20sq km (7.5sq miles) of territory from Russian forces in the north and south of the outskirts of Bakhmut in recent days while acknowledging continued Russian advances inside the city. The Wagner Group's head Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that an American citizen was killed fighting in Bakhmut, in a video posted on Telegram that showed him inspecting a body and what he claimed to be US identification documents.
In Kharkiv Oblast, two people where killed in another bout of Russian shelling in Dvorichna.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said both Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to receive an African mission that would propose a peace plan. He said the plan was backed by the presidents of Senegal, Uganda and Egypt and that UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the United States and the United Kingdom had also been briefed. The commander of the land forces of the South African National Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Lawrence Mbatha, visited Moscow.
A Moscow court sentenced Colombian resident and Russian passport-holder Alberto Enrique Giraldo Saray to five years and two months in prison for spreading "fake news" about the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine.
The US State Department condemned the arrest of a local embassy employee in Russia for alleged spying. Robert Shonov, who worked in the US consulate in Vladivostok before being subcontracted to summarize Russian media reports for the embassy in Moscow was arrested, charged with cooperating "on a confidential basis with a foreign state, [or] international or foreign organisation", and detained at Lefortovo Prison. The State Department said the allegations were without merit. The FSB later said it had charged Shonov for “confidential collaboration” with a foreign state, allegedly collecting information on the Russian war effort in Ukraine, its military draft and protest activities in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections.
Hungary blocked the disbursement of an upcoming tranche of military support for Ukraine provided under the European Union's European Peace Facility (EPF), arguing that the fund was too focused on Ukraine and that the funds could be used elsewhere. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto previously said that the country would block the disbursement as well as any new sanctions package on Russia until Ukraine removed OTP Bank, Hungary's largest commercial bank, in the list of sponsors of the war in Ukraine due to the position of the bank's management to continue operations in Russia and its client republics in the Donbas, which itself was based on a decision by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine. Hungary also demanded the removal of three people from a new sanctions list proposed by the European Commission as part of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte agreed to build an "international coalition" to provide fighter jet support for Ukraine, particularly in improving its combat air capabilities, pilot training and the procurement of F-16 jets.
A court in Kyrgyzstan convicted and sentenced a 32-year-old man to 10 years in prison for mercenarism after finding that he had joined Russian forces fighting in the Donbas between June and November 2022, for which he was paid 180,000 rubles ($2,250) per month plus an assurance of a Russian passport.
2023
May 15
During President Zelenskyy's surprise visit to Paris, a joint statement from him and President Emmanuel Macron said that France would train and equip the Ukrainian military with tens of armoured vehicles and light tanks including the AMX-10RC. It also said that France would support Ukraine's air defence capacities and increase sanctions on Russia. Visiting the United Kingdom later that day, Zelenskyy was promised hundreds of air defence missiles, as well as "long-range attack drones" with a range of more than 200 km (124 miles) by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Governor of Kharkiv Oblast said two civilians were killed by Russian shelling in Dvorichna. Russia also shelled the town of Vovchansk, damaging three residential buildings, farm buildings and a hospital, while four buildings where damaged in Tsyschchenkova. Four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on a hospital in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast. Russia claimed to have shot down a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile for the first time as well as 10 HIMARS MLRS shells.
Igor Kornet, the acting interior minister of the Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic, was reported to have been injured in an explosion at a barbershop in Luhansk city along with six other people. Four of the injured, including Kornet, were said to be in a "serious condition".
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that simplified the process for its foreign volunteers in Ukraine to gain Russian citizenship and extended its eligibility to include their spouses, children and parents.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a video and a Telegram channel calling on Russians dissatisfied with the situation in Ukraine as well as the domestic situation to share intelligence with the agency and provided instructions on how to do so.
2023
May 14
Russian missiles struck Ternopil Oblast, causing damage to civilian property. The Russian military claimed to have launched strikes on deployment points of Ukrainian forces and arms depots in the oblast as well as in Petropavlivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The Governor of Russia's Bryansk Oblast said a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a food processing facility in Starodub.
The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the death of Colonels Vyacheslav Makarov and Yevgeny Brovko of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade during fighting in Bakhmut.
The Russian military said it had repelled Ukrainian attacks in the north and south of Bakhmut while Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group said his forces had advanced up to 130 metres (400 feet) over the past 24 hours. He also claimed control over 28 multi-story buildings in western districts of Bakhmut and estimated Ukrainian forces were still holding 20 buildings and a total area of 1.69 square km (0.65 square miles). Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces captured more than ten enemy positions in the north and south of Bakhmut and cleared a large area of forest near Ivanivske. The Washington Post, citing leaked documents from the Pentagon, reported that Prigozhin secretly contacted Ukrainian intelligence in January 2023 to reveal Russian military positions in exchange for a Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmut, which was refused, and advised them to advance towards Crimea while informing them of shortages in Russian ammunition. Prigozhin denied the allegations in a Telegram statement on 15 May, while the Kremlin described the report as a hoax.
The Ukrainian air force said it destroyed 25 drones and three cruise missiles in another massive overnight attack by Russia. Seven people were killed and another 16 were injured in Russian shelling in Donetsk and Kherson oblasts. Russian-installed officials said mobile internet was temporarily suspended in occupied areas of Luhansk oblast due to increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.
2023
May 13
Moments before Ukraine's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Tvorchi, were due to perform in Liverpool in the United Kingdom, their hometown of Ternopil was struck by Russian missiles, injuring two people and damaging warehouses. This prompted them to close their performance with a message for solidarity with Ukraine. 11 people were also injured in overnight drone attacks in Khmelnytskyi. The Ukrainian military said that 18 out of 22 Iranian Shahed-131/136 drones were shot down in the attacks. Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the occupied city of Luhansk with its newly acquired British Storm Shadow missiles, wounding six children. It also claimed to have downed two Ukrainian aircraft, an Su-24 and a MiG-29, that launched the missiles. The Russian Defence Ministry said that Russian forces had seized a block in Bakhmut.
Two Russian helicopters, both Mi-8s, and two Russian fighters, an Su-34 and an Su-35, crashed in Bryansk Oblast, near the border with Ukraine with no survivors. Nine personnel were said to have been killed. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the aircraft were on their way for a bombing run in neighboring Chernihiv Oblast when they were shot down by Ukrainian forces, which was also echoed by Russian pro-military bloggers. The Russian state news agency TASS only reported the loss of an Su-34 warplane without providing a reason, as well as that of a helicopter due to an engine fire near Klintsy, about 40 km (25 miles) from the international border. Ukrainian officials also said that the aircraft were on their way to a bombing run but blamed their downing on unidentified actors. The Kyiv Independent reported that Russian authorities were searching for "saboteurs" in connection with the crashes.
Ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Germany, Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the country would provide Ukraine a military aid package worth 2.7bn euros ($2.95bn). Der Spiegel reported that the package includes 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armoured personnel carriers, more than 100 combat vehicles, 18 self-propelled Howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, four IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft systems and other air defence equipment.
An ammunition dump in Khmelnytskyi was destroyed by a Russian drone attack. A large explosion was reported followed by secondary detonations. Subsequent satellite photos showed that the "half-mile wide" storage area was completely destroyed.
2023
May 12
The exiled mayor of occupied Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov reported an explosion in the city center which led to outages in water, telecommunications and electricity in the eastern and northern districts of the city as well as surrounding villages; pro-Russian authorities confirmed the explosion and the power outage. Novaya Gazeta reported that an improvised explosive device was planted in a rubbish bin near an apartment block where the Russian-installed acting "deputy minister" of construction and public utilities lived, which exploded and injured him when he exited the building.
2023
May 11
The Ukrainian army said that they had broken through advancing Russian formations northwest of Bakhmut. Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian troops counterattacking near Khromove and Bila Hora, which Russian forces were trying to seize in order to encircle the city. Ukrainian sources said their forces advanced 2.6 km (1.6 miles) along a 3 km-wide (1.9-mile) front, destroying the 6th and 8th companies of the Russian 72nd Separate Motor Rifle Brigade; the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said already on 9 May that Russian troops had abandoned some positions on his flank in Bakhmut. The claim was also shared by Russian military bloggers but denied by the Russian Defence Ministry, which said that Russian forces repelled a surge of Ukrainian attacks in Soledar and that its forces had fallen back to "more favourable positions" near the Berkhivka reservoir northwest of Bakhmut for tactical reasons.
The United Kingdom Secretary for Defence Ben Wallace announced that the UK supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles. With a range of 250 kilometres, the missiles are capable of hitting targets in Crimea from the positions currently held by Ukraine. The United States supported the UK's decision. Secretary Wallace explained that these missiles were sent to Ukraine "to mitigate a situation where we (the UK) can't provide combat fighters."
The US ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety accused the country of supplying weapons to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the war in Ukraine, claiming that the Russian ship Lady R was loaded with ammunition and arms at Naval Base Simon's Town in Cape Town on 6–8 December 2022. The office of President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed disappointment over the claims and said no evidence had been provided to support them. An independent inquiry later confirmed Ramaphos's claims, while the South African Foreign Ministry said Brigety "apologized unreservedly" for his remarks.
A Russian court convicted 60-year old Saint Petersburg pensioner Irina Tsybaneva for desecrating the graves of President Vladimir Putin's parents at Serafimovskoe Cemetery. Tsybaneva, who was given a two-year suspended sentence, left a note at the Putin family plot referring to him as a "maniac", a "murderer" and a "monster" after claiming to have been "overwhelmed by fear" following news of the conflict in Ukraine. A military court sentenced history teacher Nikita Tushkanov of Komi Republic to five and a half years in prison for justifying "terrorism" and "discrediting" the Russian army after calling the Crimean Bridge explosion a "birthday present" for Putin in a social media post in October 2022.
2023
May 10
Russian artillery struck Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast killing one person, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Three others were injured in shelling across the region.
The governors of Voronezh and Kursk Oblasts in Russia said that three drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses, with debris from one drone damaging a pipeline in Kursk. According to the Governor, Alexander Bogomaz, a Russian military enlistment office was damaged in Bryansk Oblast. An attack on a training ground in Voronezh Oblast wounded at least fourteen soldiers.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, announced that Japan was in talks with NATO to set up a NATO liaison office at Tokyo, citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its threat to global stability. According to him, the liaison office would send a message to nations near Japan that "Japan is engaging in a very steady manner with NATO".
Czech President Petr Pavel, in a radio interview, offered the Aero L-159 ALCA to Ukraine, subject to a decision by the Czech government. They carry an array of western weapons that Ukrainian is already using and is also a descendant of the Aero L-39 Albatros that the Ukraine Air Force currently uses.
2023
May 9
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed that twenty-five missiles were fired at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine. Twenty-three were intercepted by air defence. While there were no reports of casualties, there was some property damage. Ukraine also said it had moved its Victory Day celebrations to May 8 in line with the rest of Europe, while 9 May will be called Europe Day.
French journalist Arman Soldin, who worked for Agence France Presse, was killed in a rocket attack in Chasiv Yar, near Bakhmut. He was with a team of AFP journalists travelling with Ukrainian soldiers when the group came under fire from Grad rockets.
2023
May 8
The Ukrainian General Staff said that Russia launched sixteen missiles and thirty five Shahed drones at Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine, injuring five people in Kyiv. Ukraine claimed to have shot down all drones. Other attacks occurred in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions. Rocket fire was also reported along with airstrikes. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Colonel Yurii Ihnat said that there were "seven aircraft and up to eight launches of Kh-22 cruise missiles" at Odesa Oblast. Many of the missiles were believed to have self-destructed due to their age. One missile was believed to have hit a food storage warehouse in Odesa starting a fire. The missiles were fired from Tu-22 bombers. The attacks occurred on the eve of celebrations of Victory Day in Russia on 9 May.
Russia again blocked grain exports from Ukraine, putting about 90 ships in waiting.
2023
May 7
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, claimed that Russian forces stopped a Ukrainian drone attack using air defence and electronic warfare, downing three of the drones without property damage or casualties.
2023
May 6
A bomb detonated in the Audi Q7 of Russian ultranationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin in Nizhniy Novgorod Oblast, injuring him and killing his driver. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blamed Ukraine, the United States and NATO for the attack; a suspect was detained, and the partisan group Atesh claimed responsibility.
Ukraine accused Russia of using white phosphorus munitions near civilian infrastructure in Bakhmut, and said that Wagner forces were reinforcing positions in Bakhmut in a probable attempt to try and seize the city before Russian Victory Day celebrations on May 9.
2023
May 5
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he would withdraw his troops from Bakhmut after Russia's Victory Day on 10 May because of ammunition shortages, blaming the Russian military establishment. However, two days later he said he had "received a combat order" and had been promised all ammunition and weapons needed.
Russia ordered a partial evacuation of civilians from 18 settlements of Zaporizhzhia Oblast near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, including Enerhodar, citing increased shelling by the Ukrainian military.
A Polish border guard aircraft on patrol for the European Union's border agency Frontex figured in a near-collision with a Russian Su-35 fighter jet in international waters over the Black Sea near Romania. A Polish official said that the Russian jet carried out "aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres" approaching the Polish aircraft without keeping a secure distance, leading to turbulence, loss of altitude and a temporary loss of control of the plane by the crew.
Belarus implemented border controls with Russia for the first time since 1995, in what Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik later said was part of efforts to avoid the entry of third-country nationals into the country but was seen by human rights organizations as an attempt to stem the escape of Russian dissidents and draft evaders.
2023
May 4
Explosions were reported in Kyiv and Odesa in another series of Russian air attacks. Ukraine claimed to have destroyed 18 out of the 24 drones launched, plus a reconnaissance drone, with only light damage to property; the drones were marked with messages such as "For Moscow" and "For the Kremlin".
According to TASS, Ukrainian drones attacked and set ablaze the Ilsky refinery near Novorossiisk. The fire was extinguished without damage after two hours.
Fighting broke out between Russian and Ukrainian delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in Ankara, Turkey. Ukrainian delegates had earlier waved Ukrainian flags during a speech by a Russian delegate. Later, Oleksandr Marikovski, a Ukrainian MP, physically assaulted a Russian official after the latter seized his flag.
Ukraine for the first time intercepted a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile, following reports from Kyiv of a powerful explosion overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force said they shot it down using the Patriot missile system protecting the capital.
2023
May 3
A 58-hour curfew was announced in Kherson. Oleksandr Prokudin, the Ukrainian governor of Kherson Oblast, said that during the curfew: "it is forbidden to move on the streets of the city. The city will also be closed for entry and exit". Twenty-four civilians were killed in Kherson city due to Russian shelling.
Russia said it had shot down two drones over the Moscow Kremlin and accused Ukraine of sending them to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. The Institute for the Study of War commented that it was "extremely unlikely that two drones could have penetrated multiple layers of air defence and detonated or been shot down just over the heart of the Kremlin in a way that provided spectacular imagery caught nicely on camera". The Ukrainian government denied the accusations, calling them fabricated.
The British Ministry of Defence reported that several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck Russia's Seshcha Airbase in Bryansk Oblast, 150 km north of the Ukrainian border, adding that an An-124 heavy transport aircraft was likely damaged.
2023
May 2
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian success in Ukraine would "largely depend on the timely replenishment of weapons". He said that the Russian army had the weapons that it needed for 2023, nevertheless he asked a rocket producer to double its manufacture of precision missiles.
2023
May 1
Russian missiles struck Pavlohrad, destroying "dozens" of houses, other buildings and wounding thirty four. Kyiv also came under attack, however no damage or losses were reported. Ukraine claimed to have shot down fifteen of the eighteen missiles fired. Pavlohrad was a logistical and railway hub with a Russian-installed official, Vladimir Rogov, claiming that the attacks were aimed at railway infrastructure and fuel depots in the city. Russian shelling in Kherson killed one person.
Russia announced the removal of Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev from his post as deputy defence minister in charge of logistics.
In Russia's Bryansk Oblast, bordering Ukraine, a freight train derailed after an explosive device detonated along the Bryansk-Unecha railway line.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, said that the US estimated that the Russians had suffered 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 dead, during the Battle of Bakhmut alone since December 2022. He also stated that half of these losses were from the Wagner Group.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner PMC, said that his forces were only getting a third of ammunition they needed.
2023
April 30
The governor of Bryansk Oblast in Russia, Alexander Bogomaz, claimed that Ukrainian shelling hit the village of Suzemka, killing four civilians.
2023
April 29
The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, blamed Ukrainian drones for a strike on a fuel storage facility in Sevastopol. According to the governor, two drones were shot down by air defence and electronic warfare systems. A Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson, Andriy Yusov, told Ukrainian media that "10 tanks of oil products", with 40,000 tons of fuel, were destroyed; called it divine retribution for those killed in Russian air strikes in Uman the previous day.
2023
April 28
Russia launched airstrikes on multiple cities including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Uman. At least two missiles hit a nine-story apartment building in Uman killing at least 23 people, and in addition seventeen people were wounded. Two other people were killed in Dnipro. Twenty-one out of the twenty-three missiles were intercepted, as were two "attack drones".
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was "largely ready" to go ahead, subject to weather conditions and approval of commanders.
2023
April 27
A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation, the hosting platform for Wikipedia, two million roubles. This is the seventh fine since 2023 by a Russian court. The latest fine was for a failure to remove an article from Wikipedia that contains "classified military information" about the war in Ukraine. Russian digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev told Interfax "We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now."
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, announced that since the start of the war NATO had provided Ukraine with anti-aircraft weapon systems, some MiG-29 aircraft, 230 tanks and 1550 other armored vehicles, which makes up 98% of the previously promised aid in armored vehicles. He said that NATO had trained enough Ukrainians to assemble 9 new armored brigades, which put Ukraine in a strong position to recapture occupied territories.
Melitopol's chief of police, Oleksandr Mishchenko, was killed by an Improvised explosive device. He had been collaborating with the Russian forces since they captured the city. Another police officer was killed and one more wounded. The attack was blamed on Ukrainian partisans.
It was reported that a military projectile had been discovered in a forest close to the village of Zamosc near Bydgoszcz, Poland. It was later identified as a Russian Kh-55 missile.
According to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the Russian Central Bank had frozen the bank accounts of the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and the Finnish consulate in Saint Petersburg. Accounts belonging to Danish diplomatic offices were also frozen. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said that it was in retaliation for the what it called the unfriendly acts of "the collective West".
2023
April 26
Yevgeny Roizman, former mayor of Yekaterinburg and opposition politician, went on trial for discrediting the Russian army over the war in Ukraine. He pled not guilty to the charge, which carries a five-year jail term.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held the first phone call with Xi Jinping since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After the call, Zelenskyy appointed a new ambassador to China, Pavlo Riabikin. Xi Jinping pledged to send a peace talks delegation to Ukraine.
2023
April 25
According to RIA Novosti, T-14 Armata tanks were used to fire indirectly on Ukrainian positions but were yet to be deployed in "direct assault operations". The tanks were given extra protection and the crews underwent "combat coordination".
A Russian S-300 missile hit a museum in Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and wounding ten others.
Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces, stated that they had destroyed between 13 and 20 pieces of Russian military equipment on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro River each day over the last three days, and had inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.
2023
April 24
Russian forces stopped an attack on the Black Sea Fleet base at Sevastopol. The Russian defence ministry said that "three unmanned high-speed boats" were destroyed. Ukraine did not comment on the attack.
2023
April 23
An analysis based on images posted by pro-Kremlin military bloggers suggests that Ukrainian military forces have established positions on the east bank of the Dnieper River, along with stable supply lines to their positions.
2023
April 22
An unexploded bomb was discovered in Belgorod, forcing the evacuation of more than three thousand people from seventeen apartment buildings in the surrounding area. The bomb was removed according to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the local governor. This was the same area where a bomb from an Su-34 was dropped on 20 April.
2023
April 21
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, said that "All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member," once the war with Russia was over. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had previously said that it was not yet time to decide Ukraine's membership.
A Moscow court ordered an arrest warrant, "in absentia", for Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (Ukraine) over the Crimean Bridge explosion.
2023
April 20
A Russian Su-34 over Belgorod suffered an accidental or emergency release of an "air ordnance", leaving a 20-meter crater in the city centre with three people slightly wounded.
2023
April 19
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, announced that they would send military aid to Ukraine, if Russia carries out any more large-scale attacks against civilians in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of Russia and former Russian President, responded by saying that if South Korea were to send military aid to Ukraine, Russia would respond by sending military aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on a "...quid pro quo" basis. President Yoon drew comparisons between the war in Ukraine and the Korea War of 1950–53 and how the international community supported South Korea.
2023
April 18
A German government website announced that the country had delivered a Patriot missile system to Ukraine. The United States is yet to confirm if the Patriot system it promised to Ukraine has been delivered.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry announced that it had created an online database of Russian and pro-Russian-separatist soldiers killed in Ukraine. Currently, it identified by name 56,827 "Russian representatives" killed in Ukraine, as well as their place and date of death.
2023
April 17
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment for treason and discrediting the Russian military.
Slovakia banned the import of grain from Ukraine, following a similar decision by Poland and Hungary on 15 April.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited military commanders in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson Oblast and troops in Luhansk. In Luhansk he gave soldiers "copies of icons as a gift" for Russian Orthodox Easter which was 16 April. Although Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the visit was 17 April, President Putin was heard saying Easter is "coming up". Subsequently, this was edited from the footage of the visit.
While Ukrainian forces were training in Europe a Leopard 2A4 was damaged, with the turret being completely dislodged from the hull. The crew were reported as being fine. The accident was believed to be due to crew error or the age of the tank.
Slovakia finished its delivery of 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
2023
April 16
Ukraine and Russia conducted an Orthodox Easter prisoner swap. Some one hundred and thirty Ukrainian POWs were returned to Ukraine in exchange for an unknown number of Russian soldiers. Ukrainian officials said that the remains of some eighty-two deceased Ukrainian soldiers were retrieved from territory controlled by Russia.
Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu met with Putin amid reports of Ukrainian forces finding an increasing number of Chinese components in Russian weapons, and leaked classified documents from the United States about China's alleged plans to covertly supply Russia with weapons.
2023
April 15
Poland and Hungary banned imports of grain and some other food from Ukraine "to protect the local agricultural sector", due to Ukrainian supplies lowering the price of food. The bans were criticized by the Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy as contradicting bilateral agreements on exports, while the European Commission said that "unilateral actions are not acceptable". Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the Polish Law and Justice party, said that Poland will continue supporting Ukraine and that it was ready to start talks to settle the issue.
2023
April 14
An apartment block in Sloviansk was shelled by Russian forces, killing nine people, including a two-year-old boy. The death toll was later updated to 15, plus 24 persons wounded.
2023
April 13
The BBC reported that the UK plans to send a third Westland Sea King helicopter to Ukraine in the "coming weeks", with the Ukrainian crew being trained in its maintenance at a base in "southern England".
2023
April 12
A video, which seems to have been shot recently, was released online depicting the beheaded corpses of two Ukrainian soldiers. Another video, released on 11 April, shows the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war, believed to have happened in summer 2022. The Ukrainian President condemned the actions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the authenticity of the videos remained to be verified.
2023
April 11
Denmark's Acting Defence Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, stated that Denmark will provide Ukraine with Leopard 1A5 tanks before summer, and hopes to provide as many as 100 within six months.
The Russian State Duma passed legislation to change the nature of conscription summons and how they were served. Previously a summons had to be physically served on the person being called up. Now a summons is deemed to be served once it appears on the government services portal called "Gosuslugi". Failure to obey such a summons could mean potential "bans on driving, registering a company, working as a self-employed individual, obtaining credit or loans, selling apartments, buying property or securing social benefits."
2023
April 10
Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners: around 106 Russian soldiers and 100 Ukrainian soldiers, some of whom needed medical attention.
2023
April 9
Ukraine started electricity exports for the first time since six months after the invasion. Energy exports had been stopped due to multiple strikes on the electrical infrastructure. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko stated that the electrical system had been producing extra capacity for almost two months.
2023
April 7
An Iraqi national, identified as Abbas Abuthar Witwit, died in a hospital in Luhansk due to injuries sustained while fighting as a member of the Wagner Group in Bakhmut the previous day, in what is believed to be the first confirmed case of a Middle East native to have died fighting in the war. His death was confirmed by Wagner's head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said he had been recruited from a Russian jail, on 1 June.
2023
April 6
Fu Cong, China's Ambassador to the European Union, explained in interviews that the recently declared "friendship with no limits" between Russia and China is actually "nothing but rhetoric" and that China will continue to not recognize Crimea as a part of Russia. In another interview, he denied China having any plans to provide Russia with weapons. This was something that U.S. officials have accused China of preparing. He is also reported to have stated that what is most urgent for China is "to stop the fighting to save lives".
Ukroboronprom announced that it would launch joint manufacture of 125mm tank rounds for Soviet era tanks with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa. Ukroboronprom stated that Poland will be the second NATO country to help Ukraine manufacture Soviet-era shells.
Classified documents of US–NATO counter-offensive plan details were leaked from the Pentagon via social media sites. According to experts, the plans have been edited prior to publication to decrease estimates of Russian losses and increase estimates of Ukrainian losses. Some of the experts have questioned the authenticity of the documents and suggested that the leak could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
2023
April 5
Spain's Defence Minister, Margarita Robles, announced that Spain would send six Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine in the second half of April.
2023
April 4
The United States government announced a $2.6 billion (USD) aid package to Ukraine which includes ammunition for HIMARS, air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, small arms ammunition, and anti-drone systems.
2023
April 3
Polish presidential aide Marcin Przydacz stated that Poland transferred some MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Poland had pledged to deliver 4 jets in the first batch.
Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, announced that Finland was set to join NATO on 4 April. Stoltenberg also stated that he was confident that Sweden will also join NATO in the near future.
2023
April 2
Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by an explosion in a cafe in St Petersburg. The explosion injured around 24 people of which 6 were in critical condition. The cafe where the explosion occurred belongs to Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Armenia said that it won't arrest Putin despite the country trying to join the International Criminal Court. This is after the Kremlin threatened "serious negative consequences" and the banning of Armenian dairy products. The Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Hakob Arshakyan said: "The decision of the constitutional court does not find anyone guilty in any matter and does not require steps to arrest anyone...We have heard concerns expressed by the Russian Federation."
2023
April 1
A court in Kyiv ordered the house arrest of Metropolitan Pavlo (born Petro Lebid) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) for allegedly supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was later taken under police custody on 14 July.
Russia assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month, a role in which Russia was able to maneuver meetings on Ukraine to portray the US and other Western countries as making false accusations against Russia.
2023
March 31
The International Monetary Fund approved a $15.6 billion support package for Ukraine to assist with the country's economic recovery. The package would be the first of its kind for a country at war. The World Bank estimated that around $411 billion USD was needed for Ukraine's recovery and for rebuilding from the invasion.
2023
March 30
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia for spying by the Federal Security Service, near the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. He covered the invasion of Ukraine and the impact on Russian economy of international sanctions. In May, the FSB extended his pre-trial detention until 30 August.
2023
March 29
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, visited the Zaporizhzhia NPP to check on the status of the plant amid increased fighting in the region.
2023
March 28
German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius stated that 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks had arrived in Ukraine. Ukrainian Defence spokeswoman Iryna Zolotar confirmed the arrival of British Challenger 2 tanks.
2023
March 25
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi posted on Facebook that Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut had managed to "stabilize the situation".
President Putin said Russia would go ahead with its plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He also stated that a small number of Iskander missiles able to carry them were already in Belarus. A storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons is to be finished by 1 July.
2023
March 24
A representative of the Indian Air Force told the Indian parliament that a "major delivery" from Russia was not going to proceed due to the war with Ukraine. This was the first time that a government officially acknowledged shortcomings by Russia to supply weapons or components due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
2023
March 23
Dmitry Medvedev, former president of Russia and current deputy chairman of Russia's security council, threatened war against any country, if their officials attempted to arrest Putin on the ICC warrant, during a future state visit. He also described the ICC as a "legal nonentity that had never done anything significant". He also threatened that Russia would in that case possibly attack the International Criminal Court with hypersonic missiles that would be launched from a ship in the North Sea. Medvedev also reaffirmed his previous warnings that the chance of nuclear war increases each time the western nations send military aid to Ukraine.
Sweden approved 6.2 billion kronor worth of military aid to Ukraine which included vehicles and ammunition.
2023
March 22
Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops fighting in Bakhmut and handed out medals to wounded soldiers.
Russia started moving their T-54/55 tanks from a reserve base. These tanks were from the late 1940s and were the oldest tanks still kept in reserve. It is believed by observers that these were likely being moved to the front.
2023
March 21
Explosions were reported to have occurred at the city of Dzhankoi, Crimea. The local Russian administrator, Ihor Ivin, said that a 33-year-old man was taken to hospital due to shrapnel from a downed drone. The power grid was damaged and several buildings caught fire. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said the explosions "...destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail". The ministry added that the missiles were supposedly destined for submarine launch by the Russian Black Sea fleet, but Ukraine did not explicitly claim responsibility for the explosions.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
In an effort to speed up delivery, the US government said it would supply Ukraine with older M1A1 Abrams tanks that have been upgraded so that they offer a "very similar capability to the M1A2" rather than the newer M1A2 tanks. In addition, the UK government also said it would supply Ukraine with depleted uranium shells.
2023
March 20
The European Union announced that it will be sending a million rounds of shells to Ukraine over the next 12 months.
The United States approved a $350 million military aid package for Ukraine. The package includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers, ammunition for Bradley Fighting Vehicles, HARM missiles, anti-tank weapons, riverine boats, and other equipment.
2023
March 19
President Putin toured Mariupol after travelling there from Crimea via helicopter.
2023
March 18
President Putin visited Crimea on the ninth anniversary of the peninsula's annexation.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative between Ukraine and Russia, which was due to expire on 18 March, was extended.
2023
March 17
Slovakia decided to provide Ukraine with 13 MiG-29 jets in varying states of readiness.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for allegations of war crimes during the war in Ukraine. Later in March, the Hungarian Prime Minister's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said that Hungary would not arrest Putin if he entered the country, stating that the warrant was inconsistent with Hungarian law.
2023
March 16
Poland announced that it will provide four MiG-29s to Ukraine with in the next few days. The rest of Poland's MiG-29 fleet is being serviced to also be ready for transfer at a later time. The total number to be sent is unclear with different sources speculating from 11 to 19.
2023
March 15
Ukroboronprom, with the help of a "NATO country", started manufacturing 125 mm smoothbore ammunition for Ukraine's Soviet-era tanks. Also being manufactured were 120 mm mortar rounds, 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shells. The production of projectiles is completely dispersed over a large number of cities. This is part of a larger effort by Ukraine to manufacture ammunition as Western donors have reached into their own stockpiles.
Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of Armed Forces for France, announced that AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles have arrived in Ukraine.
2023
March 13
Norway announced that it will provide two NASAMS missile systems to Ukraine.
